An Old English term of ‘beorg’ which means homestead is the earliest beginnings for the Barnum surname. Variations in spelling Barnum include Barnhem, Barnham, Burnham, Barnhum and Barnem. The original English Barnum families were in Hampshire county. The Anglo-Saxon name was later in Staffordshire, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Sussex counties and in the city of London. In Scotland, Barnum families are concentrated in the county of Ayrshire. The earliest Barnum settlers in America lived in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia. Later settlers were in California, Illinois, Ohio, Arkansas, Kansas and Utah. Famous: Phineas Taylor ‘P. T.‘ Barnum (founder of the ‘Barnum and Bailey Circus’, an showman of the 19th century), Henry A. Barnum (a Union Civil War general) and Hidle Brown Barum (muscian, songwriter, child movie actor and performer with the Dootones and Coasters).