My name is Hume.  Most families with that surname have origins in Scotland or Ireland, but in researching the family history I discovered that the family came from Essex, England.

The name, originally Hum or Humm, had changed as my ancestors moved from Essex into Suffolk.  The local pronunciation of the name sounds like 'hoom' which perhaps explains the variations in spelling.

As for the meaning of the name, I've seen a few suggestions, for example that it derives from the French 'Homme', which I doubt.  The one I like is that it derives from a Nordic word referring to a meadow by a river, which most certainly describes the area where the family originated.  Indeed there are several centers of Hum/Humm/Hume families along the river Stour running along the Suffolk/Essex border from Sudbury, past Colchester and out towards the coast.

So this family tree plots my branch of the Hum/Humm/Hume clan from Great Henny, Essex from about 1700 onwards and its migration to Suffolk and then to London in the late 19th century.