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

Farnham, 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 Farnham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Farnham in America

Farnham is the 7038th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Farnham surname appeared 4,757 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 Farnham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Farnham 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 Farnham

The surname Farnham has its origins in England, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period. It is derived from the Old English words "fearn" meaning fern and "ham" meaning homestead or village. The name likely originated as a place name referring to a settlement near a fern-covered area.

Farnham is first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholdings and population across England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry refers to "Ferneham" in Surrey, indicating the presence of the name in its early form.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Farnham was Richard de Farnham, who was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. This document recorded landowners and their holdings in the county.

In the 14th century, a notable figure with the name Farnham was John Farnham, a wealthy merchant from London who served as an alderman and sheriff of the city in the 1360s.

During the 16th century, Nicholas Farnham (1508-1559) was a prominent Catholic priest and scholar who served as the Bishop of Rochester from 1554 until his death.

In the 18th century, Thomas Farnham (1701-1786) was an English clergyman and author who wrote several works on religious subjects, including a notable treatise on the doctrine of predestination.

Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Erskine Farnham (1804-1848), an American explorer and soldier who led an expedition across the western United States in the 1830s and published a book about his travels.

The surname Farnham has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Farnham in Surrey, which has been in existence since Saxon times, and Farnham in Dorset, which was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Ferneham."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Farnham

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

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

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

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