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

Derham, 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 Derham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Derham in America

Derham is the 57234th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Derham surname appeared 356 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Derham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Derham 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 Derham

The surname Derham originates from England, with its roots dating back to the medieval era. It is believed to be a locational surname, derived from the place name "Derehams" or "Dereham," which is a town in Norfolk, England. The name itself is thought to have evolved from the Old English words "deor," meaning "deer," and "ham," meaning "homestead" or "village," indicating a settlement or homestead associated with deer.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry in the Domesday Book mentions "Dereham" as a settlement in Norfolk, providing evidence of the name's existence during the Norman era.

In the 13th century, a notable individual named William de Dereham was recorded as a Benedictine monk and chronicler. He was born in Dereham, Norfolk, around 1210 and is known for his work titled "Historia de rebus gestis Glastoniensibus," which documented the history of Glastonbury Abbey.

Another prominent figure with the surname Derham was John Derham (1657-1735), an English philosopher, scientist, and theologian. He was born in Stoughton, Worcestershire, and made significant contributions to the study of natural philosophy and theology. Derham was a fellow of the Royal Society and authored several works, including "Physico-Theology" and "Astro-Theology," which explored the relationship between science and religion.

In the 18th century, William Derham (1701-1757) was a noted English clergyman and naturalist. He was born in Upminster, Essex, and served as the vicar of Upminster for over 50 years. Derham contributed to the field of natural history and wrote extensively on topics such as meteorology and entomology.

Another individual with the surname Derham was Sir Henry Derham (1805-1879), a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He was born in Nottinghamshire and served as the Governor of Newfoundland from 1855 to 1857, as well as the Governor of Hong Kong from 1857 to 1859.

Throughout history, variations in the spelling of the surname have been observed, including Dereham, Derram, and Derrame. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects, scribal errors, or personal preferences in spelling.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Derham

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

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 Derham 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 Derham 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 Derham was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!