Newnham

N1E1W4N1H4A1M3

proper noun

A council ward in Bedford, Bedfordshire (OS grid ref (approx) TL0749).

OriginOld English nēowan →
UncommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

proper nounNewnham (countable and uncountable, plural Newnhams)

plural Newnhams · alternative Newingham

  1. A number of places in England:
    1. countableuncountableA council ward in Bedford, Bedfordshire (OS grid ref (approx) TL0749).
    2. countableuncountableA western suburb of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire (OS grid ref TL4357).
    3. countableuncountableA village and civil parish (served by Newnham on Severn Parish Council) in Forest of Dean district, Gloucestershire (OS grid ref SO6911).
    4. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in Basingstoke and Deane district, Hampshire (OS grid ref SU7054).
    5. countableuncountableA village and civil parish (served by Caldecote and Newnham Parish Council) in North Hertfordshire district, Hertfordshire (OS grid ref TL2437).
    6. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in Swale borough, Kent (OS grid ref TQ9557).
    7. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, Northamptonshire, previously in Daventry district (OS grid ref SP5759).
    8. countableuncountableA hamlet in Aston Cantlow parish, Stratford-on-Avon district, Warwickshire (OS grid ref SP1560).
  2. countableuncountableA suburb of Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
  3. countableuncountableA habitational surname from Old English.
  4. abbreviationcountableellipsisinformaluncountableCambridge UniversityEllipsis of Newnham College, Cambridge.

Origin

  1. Old Englishnēowan
  2. EnglishNewnham

From Old English nēowan, weak dative form of nēowe (“new”), + hām (“village, hamlet”).

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Newnham. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Newnham

MLA

“Newnham.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Newnham. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Newnham,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Newnham.

Source: Newnham on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.