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

Letham, 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 Letham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Letham in America

Letham is the 105600th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Letham surname appeared 169 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 Letham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Letham 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 Letham

The surname Letham is believed to have originated in England, specifically in the county of Yorkshire. It is a locational name, derived from the place name Letham, which itself is derived from the Old English words "lede" meaning "a people" and "ham" meaning "homestead" or "village". This suggests that the name originally referred to a settlement or village belonging to a particular group of people.

The earliest known record of the name Letham dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is mentioned as "Ledham" in the county of Yorkshire. This indicates that the name has been in existence since at least the 11th century.

In the 13th century, records show the name spelled as "Letham" in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. This spelling has remained relatively consistent throughout the centuries, although variations such as "Lethem" and "Leatham" have also been documented.

One notable bearer of the surname Letham was Sir John Letham (c.1470-1547), an English politician and member of the Parliament of England during the reign of Henry VIII. He served as the High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1532.

Another significant figure with the surname Letham was William Letham (1534-1611), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, from 1589 to 1611.

In the 17th century, the name Letham appeared in various parish records and court rolls in Yorkshire and neighboring counties. One example is John Letham (1632-1701), a landowner and justice of the peace in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Moving forward to the 18th century, there is a record of a James Letham (1718-1789) who was a successful merchant and ship owner based in the port city of Hull, England.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Sir Ralph Letham (1788-1854), a British naval officer who served with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars and was later appointed as the Governor of the Royal Naval Hospital in Plymouth.

The surname Letham has been associated with various places in England, particularly in Yorkshire, where it originated. Some examples include the village of Letham, near Beverley, and the hamlet of Letham, near Pickering.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Letham

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

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

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

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