Chisholms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Members of the family that share the Scottish-origin surname Chisholm, or several people who bear that surname
2. A group of people from one family carrying the surname Chisholm, a name of Scottish origin
3. Several individuals or relatives who all share the family name Chisholm, a surname with Scottish roots

Etymology: "Chisholms" is the plural of "Chisholm," a surname that began as a place name in Scotland. The surname is habitational, meaning it was taken from a location, and the most commonly given origin combines Old English "ċīese," meaning "cheese," with "holm," a term for a piece of dry land within a fen, a low marshy area. Under that reading, the name describes a place where cheese was made or sold, or land associated with it. A second possibility is that the second element is "helm," meaning a shed or barn, so the place would have been known for a cheese shed or dairy building. Either way, the name is a compound of ordinary Old English words, and its plural form simply refers to more than one bearer of the surname, such as members of the same family.