Gershom

Gershom
This most unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant, metathesized form of the more familiar locational surname Gresham, from the place so called near Sheringham in Norfolk. The place is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Gersam, Gressam", and derives its name from the Olde English pre 7th Century "gaers, graes", grass(land), pasturage, with "ham", homestead, farm, settlement. The interchangeable first element, "gaers, graes" is a fairly common occurrence in Old and Middle English, here both "bird" and "brid" are found for bird, and "caerse, cerse" or "cresse" for (water) cress; this latter term is the first element of a number of placenames, such as Carswell and Caswell, which have generated the surnames Creswell, Cressall and Craswall, among many others. Locational surnames were used particularly as a means of identification by those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere, and regional dialectal differences as well as varying standards of literacy subsequently gave rise to variant forms of the original name. In this instance the modern surname ranges from Gresham, Gressham and Greshom, to Garsham, Gersham, Gershom, Girsom(e) and Gorcham. Examples from Church Registers include: the marriage of Arthur Gersom and Lucy Watson, in Anderby, Lincolnshire, on July 16th 1563, and the christening of Hanna, daughter of John Gershom, on July 23rd 1624, in Tattershall, Lincolnshire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Gresham, which was dated 1199, in Records of Pleas before the King and his justices for the county of Norfolk, during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Gershom — (oft auch: Gerschom oder Gersom) war im Alten Testament der älteste Sohn von Moses. „Ich bin ein Gast geworden in fremdem Lande“ (2.Mose 18,3) Gershom wurde auf der Sinaihalbinsel geboren, als sein Vater Moses auf der Flucht vor den Ägyptern… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • GERSHOM — (Heb. גֵּרְשׁוֹם, גֵּרְשֹׁם), elder son of Moses and Zipporah (Ex. 2:22; 18:3). Gershom was born in Midian. The meaning of the name is unknown, but is explained as a stranger there, symbolizing Moses flight from Egypt. According to I Chronicles… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Gershom — m Biblical: name borne by a son of Moses (Exodus 2: 22). The name possibly means ‘exile’ (i.e. a person in exile) in Hebrew, but it is usually interpreted as ‘sojourner’, from Hebrew ger sham meaning ‘a stranger there’ …   First names dictionary

  • GERSHOM — fil. Phinees. 1. Esd. c. 8. v. 2 …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Gershom — This page is about the firstborn son of Moses. For the son of Levi, see Gershon. According to the Bible, Gershom (] .The later Books of Chronicles identify Shebuel as being one of Gershom s son s [] , which could alternatively be taken as stating …   Wikipedia

  • Gershom —    Expulsion.    1) The eldest son of Levi (1 Chr. 6:16, 17, 20, 43, 62, 71; 15:7)=GERSHON (q.v.).    2) The elder of the two sons of Moses born to him in Midian (Ex. 2:22; 18:3). On his way to Egypt with his family, in obedience to the command… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • Gershom Scholem — (* 5. Dezember 1897 in Berlin als Gerhard Scholem; † 21. Februar 1982 in Jerusalem) war ein jüdischer Religionshistoriker, der in Ivrith, Deutsch und Englisch über 500 Werke publizierte. Er hatte ab 1933 einen Lehrstuhl zur Erforschung der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • GERSHOM BEN JUDAH ME'OR HA-GOLAH — (c. 960–1028), one of the first great German talmudic scholars and a spiritual molder of German Jewry. Few biographical details are known of Gershom, most of the stories about him being of a legendary nature. He was apparently born in Metz, but… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Gershom ben Judah — Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960 1040? 1028?) best known as Rabbeinu Gershom (Hebrew: רבנו גרשום, Our teacher Gershom ) and also commonly known to scholars of Judaism by the title Rabbeinu Gershom Me Or Hagolah ( Our teacher Gershom the light of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Gershom Mott — (April 7, 1822 ndash; November 29, 1884) was a United States Army officer and a General in the Union Army, a commander in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.Early lifeGeneral Mott was born in Lamberton, New Jersey, a town outside of… …   Wikipedia

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