The Barnum surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,090 people carried this name — #5,692 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 5,838 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Barnum surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Barnham’.

An early record he cites: Simon de Bernham, Norfolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 80 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

83 families named Barnum, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 502 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 53
Vermont 14
New York 13
Massachusetts 2
Maine 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 228 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Barnum in American newspapers,
1891–1913.

Newspaper page from Montgomery County Sentinel carrying the name Barnum
Montgomery County Sentinel 1893-12-15
Newspaper page from The Helena Independent carrying the name Barnum
The Helena Independent 1891-12-02
Newspaper page from The Roundup Record carrying the name Barnum
The Roundup Record 1913-08-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 218,906 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Barnum in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

3,143 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Barnum. The most, 907, date from the 1880s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,043
Victoria 811
Queensland 488
South Australia 473
Tasmania 208
Western Australia 81
Northern Territory 9
ACT (Canberra) 8

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Barnum.

Who carried it

People named Barnum,
with a public archive behind them.

  • P. T. Barnum
    P. T. Barnum 1810–1891 · writer
  • James Barnum
    James Barnum 1816–
  • William Henry Barnum
    William Henry Barnum 1818–1889 · businessperson
  • Henry A. Barnum
    Henry A. Barnum 1833–1892 · politician
  • Nancy Fish
    Nancy Fish 1850–1927 · socialite
  • Zenas Barnum 1810–1865

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Barnum,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States672 records

672 records of the Barnum name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 179
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 177
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 132
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 123
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 41
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 18
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Paul C. Barnum

    Born 1920 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts; inspector. U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War; died 1998, buried at Rush Memorial Park, Montrose, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Gary Lane Barnum

    Born 1949; from Choctaw, Oklahoma. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Barnum

    Arrived at New York in 1871 aboard the Italy from Liverpool, aged 30; merchant. From Carribean Islands, Great Britain.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 672 records for Barnum in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia8 records

8 records of the Barnum name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Henry V. Barnum

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Buffalo, sailing from Quebec in 1839.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Chas Barnum

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Potosi, aged 30; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Charles Henry Barnum

    Will registered in Queensland in 1857.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Barnum in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Barnum name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record John Barnum

    Died 1928; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Harlin James Barnum

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Dolina Barnum

    Died 1926 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 6 records for Barnum in Canada.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Barnum name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Maria Barnum

    Married in 1760 in Bergschenhoek.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Barnum.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Barnum is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Barnum volume
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