Chatham

The Anglo-Saxon name Chatham comes from when the family resided in Cheetham, in the county of Lancashire. It is from the placename Cheetham that the family name is derived. The surname Chatham was first found in Lancashire at Cheetham, a township, in the parish and union of Manchester, hundred of Salford. [1] Now part of Greater Manchester, Cheetham dates back to the late 12th century and literally meant "homestead or village by the wood called Chet," from the Celtic word "ced" meaning "forest" and the Old English word "ham."