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

Popham, 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 Popham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Popham in America

Popham is the 14070th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Popham surname appeared 2,138 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Popham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Popham 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 Popham

The surname Popham originates from England and dates back to the late 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words 'pop' meaning a small hill or hillock, and 'ham' meaning a village or homestead. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a small hill or in a village with a prominent hill.

The earliest recorded mention of the Popham surname is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as 'Popham' in the county of Hampshire, suggesting the family's origins were in this region.

During the 12th century, the Popham family held lands and estates in the village of Popham, near Basingstoke in Hampshire. The village name itself is recorded as 'Opham' in the Pipe Rolls of 1166, reflecting the earlier spelling variation.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the Popham surname was Sir John Popham (1531-1607), an English lawyer and Lord Chief Justice of England. He played a key role in the trials of Sir Walter Raleigh and Guy Fawkes, and was involved in the establishment of the Popham Colony in present-day Maine, USA.

Another prominent figure was Sir Francis Popham (1573-1644), an English naval commander and politician. He served as an Admiral in the Royal Navy and was involved in expeditions against the Spanish and Dutch fleets during the Anglo-Spanish War and the Thirty Years' War.

Edward Popham (1610-1651) was an English military commander who fought for the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War. He played a significant role in the Battle of Naseby in 1645 and was later appointed as a commissioner for the trial of King Charles I.

In the 18th century, Sir Home Riggs Popham (1762-1820) was a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars. He was involved in the capture of several French and Spanish ships and was later appointed as a Governor of the British West Indies.

Thomas Popham (1774-1857) was an English civil engineer and surveyor who worked on various canal and railway projects in the early 19th century. He was involved in the construction of the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Great Western Railway.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Popham

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

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

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

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