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

Polhamus, 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 Polhamus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Polhamus in America

Polhamus is the 34668th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Polhamus surname appeared 652 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 Polhamus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Polhamus 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 Polhamus

The surname Polhamus is of Dutch origin, derived from the Dutch phrase "pol hamer" which means "maker of wooden shoes" or "wooden shoemaker." It originated in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages, a time when wooden shoes were commonly worn by peasants and working-class individuals.

The name first appeared in written records in the 16th century, with one of the earliest known references being a mention of a Polhamus family living in the Dutch town of Leiden in 1587. The name was also found in various Dutch church records and municipal archives from that period.

As the Dutch colonized parts of the Americas in the 17th century, some individuals with the surname Polhamus immigrated to the New World, particularly to the Dutch settlement of New Netherland, which later became New York. One notable figure was Johannes Polhamus, who was born in the Netherlands around 1640 and settled in the Dutch colony of Flatbush, Long Island, in the late 1600s.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Polhamus name spread across various regions of the United States, with some families settling in areas like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. One prominent individual from this era was Reverend Isaac Polhamus, a Dutch Reformed minister born in 1750 in New Jersey, who served congregations in several states.

Another notable person with the surname Polhamus was John Polhamus, born in 1819 in New York. He was a successful businessman and philanthropist who founded the Polhamus Memorial Clinic, a medical facility in Brooklyn, New York, in the late 19th century.

In more recent times, one of the most well-known individuals with the Polhamus surname was Edward Polhamus, an American author and journalist born in 1895. He wrote several books and articles about the history and culture of New York City, including a renowned work titled "The Polhamus Family," which delved into the genealogy and origins of the Polhamus name.

While the surname Polhamus is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be a part of the rich tapestry of American surnames, with its roots firmly planted in the Netherlands and the Dutch diaspora that helped shape the cultural and historical fabric of the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Polhamus

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

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

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

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