Find out how popular the last name Birmingham is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Birmingham.

Birmingham, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Birmingham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Birmingham in America

Birmingham is the 5297th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Birmingham surname appeared 6,577 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Birmingham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Birmingham to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Birmingham

The surname BIRMINGHAM is of English origin, derived from the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands region of England. The name is thought to have originated in the late 11th or early 12th century, around the time of the Norman Conquest.

Birmingham is believed to have its roots in the Old English words "Bremming" and "ham," meaning "homestead" or "settlement of the Bremming people." The Bremmings were an Anglo-Saxon tribe or family group that settled in the area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BIRMINGHAM can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population undertaken by William the Conqueror. Although the spelling varied slightly, the entry likely referred to the same area that would later become known as Birmingham.

By the 13th century, the name had evolved to its modern spelling, and records show individuals bearing the surname BIRMINGHAM residing in various parts of England, particularly in the West Midlands region and surrounding areas.

Notable individuals with the surname BIRMINGHAM throughout history include:

1. John de Birmingham (c. 1200-1265), an English nobleman and Baron of Birmingham.
2. Sir John Birmingham (c. 1350-1416), a Member of Parliament and landowner from Warwickshire.
3. Thomas Birmingham (c. 1505-1572), a Protestant reformer and Church of England clergyman.
4. Edward Birmingham (1719-1765), an English poet and playwright.
5. John Birmingham (1816-1884), an Irish-American industrialist and founder of the Birmingham Iron Works in Pennsylvania.

As the city of Birmingham grew in prominence during the Industrial Revolution, the surname BIRMINGHAM became more widely spread, with many families adopting it as a locational name, indicating their origins or residence in the city or surrounding areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Birmingham

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Birmingham.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Birmingham was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Birmingham has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Birmingham was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Birmingham, please contact us.

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