Warmisham Family History

from Warmingham (Cheshire). The place-name was formerly pronounced ‘Warmincham’ (compare the current spelling of Altrincham also in Cheshire pronounced ‘Altringham’). This could be spelt as Warmingham with the -g- prounced as ‘soft’ /dʒ/ Warmincham or Warminsham as illustrated by the surname. In some forms the -n- in the second syllable was lost including the variant that appears in Lancs where the final -sham has been replaced by the characteristic Lancs place-name element -shaw. Warmiham and Warminham seem to be aberrations. The place-name is recorded as Warmincham in 1259 and may derive from an Old English personal name *Wærma or Wǣrmund + the Old English place-name forming suffix -ing (meaning ‘Wærma's or Wærmund's place’) + hām ‘village homestead’.