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

Northam, 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 Northam surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Northam in America

Northam is the 21483rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Northam surname appeared 1,216 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 Northam.

We can also compare 2010 data for Northam 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 Northam

The surname Northam has its origins in England and dates back to the early medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "norð" meaning north and "ham" meaning homestead or village, referring to someone who lived in a northern village or settlement.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name comes from the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Norham" in reference to a village in Northumberland, near the Scottish border. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 11th century.

In the 13th century, records show variations of the name such as "Northam" and "Northum" in various parts of England, particularly in counties like Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. The name was often associated with specific place names like Northam in Devon, or Northam near Bideford, suggesting that the bearers of the name may have originated from or resided in these areas.

One notable early bearer of the surname was William de Northam, a 13th-century clergyman who served as the Bishop of Worcester from 1268 to 1285. Another was John Northam, a Member of Parliament for Somerset in the 1360s.

In the 16th century, the Northam family of Devon gained prominence, with members like John Northam (c. 1520-1585), a wealthy landowner and Justice of the Peace, and his son, John Northam (c. 1560-1630), who served as Sheriff of Devon in 1604.

Other notable Northams throughout history include Reverend John Northam (1601-1676), a Puritan minister in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Thomas Northam (1735-1786), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War.

The surname Northam has also been associated with several place names, such as Northam in Devon, which was originally recorded as "Northam" in the Domesday Book, and Northam in West Sussex, which was recorded as "Northam" in the 13th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Northam

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Northam, 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!