2000
#22,983
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,039
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.39
Rare Last name
Northam
A locational surname referring to someone from the northern part of a hamlet or town.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,428 Americans carry the last name Northam. That puts it at #21,399 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 240,024 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Northam surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Northam with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.4K
1 in 240,024
Census rank
#21,399
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,245 bearers of the surname Northam in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 21399th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Northam, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Northam
Among Census respondents with the surname Northam, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Northam bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Northam surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 1,054
- Black or African American7.3% · 91
- Two or more races4.6% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Northam
Northam appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#21,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,216
+177 bearers (+17.0%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Up 1,500 places
2020
#21,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,245
+29 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Up 84 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,983 | 1,039 | 0.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,483 | 1,216 | 0.41 | +177 bearers (+17.0%) | Up 1,500 places |
| 2020 | #21,399 | 1,245 | 0.42 | +29 bearers (+2.4%) | Up 84 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Northam surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,483 | #21,399 | 0.4% |
| Count | 1,216 | 1,245 | 2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.42 | 1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Northam bearers went from 1,216 to 1,245 (+2.4% change). The surname moved up 84 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,483 to #21,399.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Northam
FAQ
Northam surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Northam?
Name Census estimates that about 1,428 living Americans carry the surname Northam. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 240,024 residents.
How common is Northam?
Northam ranks #21,399 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.42 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,245 people with the surname Northam. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,428), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.42 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Northam.
Has Northam become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Northam went from 1,216 recorded bearers to 1,245. That is an increase of 29 (+2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #21,483 to #21,399.
What does the Census say about the background of Northam?
Among Census respondents with the surname Northam, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Northam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (1,054 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Northam appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Black (7.3%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Northam (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Northam mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the northern part of a hamlet or town. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Northam (0.42 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Northam?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Northam, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.