Last revised
25 October 2006

When I started researching my family history, I discovered that my Great Grand Mother was born in 1876 in Clitheroe, Lancashire and was called Meda Ellen Altham.  What an unusual name I thought !

I then discovered that her father was called Gardam Altham; another strange name but this one turned out to be his mother’s surname. Further research revealed that Gardam had a brother called Doctor Altham who died at the age of 13.

That was it, I was hooked not only on family history, but also on finding out more about the people with these unusual first names; and that has lead ultimately to the formation of this One Name Study.