Explore the Family Name Bascom

The meaning of Bascom

1. English (Cornwall): habitational name from either of two places called Boscombe (in Dorset and Wiltshire), both named with Old English bors ‘spiky plant’ + cumb ‘valley’. This surname, which is rare in Britain, is also found in Guyana and in the West Indies. Compare Bascomb and Bascombe. 2. Possibly an altered form of French Bascon: ethnic name from Old French Bascon, denoting someone from the Basque Country. History: The surname Bascom was first brought to North America in 1635 by Thomas Bascom (1602–82) from England, who settled in Northampton, MA. He is the ancestor of the great majority of the Bascoms in the US and is believed to be of Huguenot stock. He is listed in the register of Huguenot ancestors recognized by the Huguenot Society of America, while the (US) National Huguenot Society’s register of qualified Huguenot ancestors lists his great-grandfather, Robert Bascom (or Bascome or Bascomb or Bascombe), who reportedly fled with his son Jean from France to England c.1537. It were two of Thomas’ nephews who reportedly brought the surname Bascom or its variants to the West Indies. However, proof of a French Huguenot origin for the name is difficult to substantiate.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.