The first settlers, as early as 1638, gave the name of Enon to this territory which was originally a part of Salem. The General Court on September 7, 1643, ordered "that Enon shalbe called Wennam. Wennam is granted to bee a towne, & hath liberty to send a deputy." The present name is supposed to have been derived from the parish of Wenham, near Ipswich, in Suffolk County, England, from which some of the early settlers are said to have emigrated.
The populations of Wenham at different periods was as follows: