The surname of ADBURGHAM was a baptismal name 'the son of Abraham' a popular font name in the 13th century. Early records of the name mention ABRAHAM (circa 2000-1650 BC). He was revered in the Old Testament as the father of the Hewbrew people. According to Genesis he came from the Sumerian town of Ur in modern Iraq and migrated with his family and flocks via Haran (the ancient city of Mari) to the ' Promised Land ' of Canaan, where he settled. After a while in Egypt, he lived to be 175 years old, and was buried with his first wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah in Hebron. Abraham is generally regarded as the father of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. John Abraham, was documented in the year 1273 in the County of Bedford. Magota Abraham of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. William Abraham was documented in the parish of Sephton in the year 1617. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. An eminent member of the name was William Abraham (1842-1922) the Welsh trade unionist and politician, born in Glamorgan. He was a leading figure in the miner's union. He was elected as MP for Rondda from 1885 to 1918, and devoted himself to mining legislation.

The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884.