Name derived from?

Question

The last name of "Helms" was found on my mother's side of the family tree. Where does this name come from? Is it Scottish, Irish, ect...?

Answer 1

The name has many possible origins including German, Scottish, & Dutch. It has several variants in spelling: Helm, Helms, Helem, Helen, Hellums, etc. In the eastern US, one branch descended from the captain of a ship, Israel Akesson. He assumed the last name HELM, a variant of the word hjelm, meaning "helmet" in Swedish. (see http://www.colonialswedes.org/Forefathers/Helm.html)

Another good, extensive site for researching the name and some of its roots can be found at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~helmsnc/index.html#intro%20part%20two

Answer 2

Cathy, it may be Scottish too, as Helm is a Scottish name also, from Helme in Roxburghshire.

Answer 3

Hey Cathy,

The name is English or German - yes, it is true a name can derive from different locations.

From Swyrich.com

English:
Spelling variations of this family name include: Helme, Helm, Helms and others.

First found in Surrey where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Peter Helm, his wife, and six sons and one daughter who arrived in 1709 in New England; Daniel Helm arrived in New England in 1768.

German:
Spelling variations of this family name include: Helm, Helm, Helmm, van den Helm and others.

First found in Austria, where the name became noted for its many branches in the region, each house acquiring a status and influence which was envied by the princes of the region.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Adam Helm, who was naturalized in Pennsylvania in 1762; Adam Helm, who emigrated from Hessia to Baltimore with his wife and five children in 1830; Carl Gottl Helm, who arrived in New York from Bremen in 1854.

Be sure to validate your decent by making your family Tree. You can get help with that here. There are 407 HELMS entries in Family Search.com. And there is a GENFORUM for HELMS where you can converse with Cousins of this name.