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The Corkum name appears to come from the city of Gorinchem in South Holland (which apparently is pronounced "Gor-Kem"). Our earliest known ancestor, Johannes, was born there about 1525. The next generation moved to Germany where they were given the name "von Gorinchem" (from Gorinchem) which in succeeding generations became "von Gorkum" and then just "Gorkum" when my ancestors, the brothers Herman and Wilhelm sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia with their families in 1752. Herman and his wife died on the voyage but some children survived. Wilhelm's family settled in Lunenburg in 1753. The spelling subsequently became "Corkum". Note - this is all from information by others without sources so no way to independently confirm the accuracy.