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According to A Dictionary of English Surnames by Reaney & Wilson, Soames is an English surname that indicates one's ancestors came from places called Soham in either Cambridgeshire or Suffolk, England.

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According to A.D. Mills' A Dictionary of English Place-Names, the name of the Soham in Cambridgeshire originally meant "homestead by a swampy pool", while the Soham in Suffolk simply meant "homestead by a pool".