Catharine Dunham was christened on 21 May 1679, in Sherborne, Dorset, England, United Kingdom as the daughter of Thomas Dunham and Catharine.
English: habitational name from any of the places called Dunham (Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Cheshire). Most are named from Old English dūn ‘hill’ + hām ‘homestead’. A place in Lincolnshire now known as Dunholme appears in the Domesday Book as Duneham and this too serves as a source of the surname; here the first element is probably the Old English personal name Dunna. Dunham is often difficult to tell apart from Downham .
History: John Dunham (1590–1668) was a Puritan linen weaver who came to Plymouth, MA, via Leiden, the Netherlands, in 1633. He had many prominent descendants.
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