This is an English surname, and is either locational from the village of Hitcham, near Maidenhead, in Buckinghamshire, or is a transposition from either Hitchin, a locational place name, or Hitchen(s), a diminitive of Hick or Hitch, an early form of Robert! Hitcham village was first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, and we know that the surname is much later, although we have no definate first recording. Locational surnames were given either to the local lord of the manor and his descendants, or more usually to people who left the village to move somewhere else. As such it was easy to identfy such strangers by calling them after their original homes. Spelling over the centuries being at best rudimentary and local dialects very thick, often lead to the creation of "sounds like" forms. As to why people left and set out on their travels has been the subject of many books, but changes in agricultural practices, the Great Plagues, and the fact that it was "known" that in London the streets were paved with gold, was enough to set people walking. The famous International Genealogical Index (IGI), has this surname listed under Hitchens suggesting that they are uncertain as to the origin. We have not found any recordings from the counties of Buckinghamshire or Berkshire, although the name is recorded in the city of London from early Stuart times. Recordings from this source include examples such as Margerie Hitcham christened at St Botolphs Bishopgate, on March 24th 1620, and two centuries later that of Edward Morris Hitcham who married Lucy Brockwell at St Brides Fleet Street, on November 12th, 1820.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024