The Bonham surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,832 people carried this name — #5,123 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 43,100 people counted. That is up 5% from 6,533 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bonham surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘le Bonhomme’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: Maurice de Bonham, Somerset, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 117 · public domain.

In print

Bonham in American newspapers,
1879–1920.

Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Bonham
New-york Tribune 1920-07-04
Newspaper page from Knoxville Daily Chronicle carrying the name Bonham
Knoxville Daily Chronicle 1879-08-28
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Bonham
Evening Star 1905-08-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 60,991 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bonham in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

5,392 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bonham. The most, 1,187, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,076
Queensland 1,424
Victoria 790
South Australia 576
Western Australia 263
Tasmania 202
ACT (Canberra) 44
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Bonham,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Bonham d. 1555 · politician
  • Anita Constance Edith Bonham d. 1961
  • Robert Bonham d. 1760
  • Barbarina Norris d. 1882
  • Emily May Georgiana Reid d. 1889
  • Mary Anne Wroughton d. 1891

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bonham,
in the records of 5 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 States477 records

477 records of the Bonham name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 248
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 124
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 34
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 26
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 23
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 14
  • Sacramento County historic burials 4
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Norman L. Bonham

    Born 1908 in Indiana. Enlisted 1941 at San Francisco, California; sales clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1959, buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 Theodore R. Bonham

    Born 1947; from Wilmington, North Carolina. 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 Bridget Bonham

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Concordia from Limerick, aged 21; farmer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 477 records for Bonham in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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).

Australia119 records

119 records of the Bonham name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 61
  • Tasmanian Names Index 17
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 15
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 10
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  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 Robert Bonham

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Surry, arriving 1831; ticket of leave 1837. Native of Cambridge.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Henry Bonham

    Arrived in Queensland in 1877 aboard the Saraca, aged 20.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James J. Bonham

    Contractor of Richmond, Victoria; died 1888.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 119 records for Bonham in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Canada15 records

15 records of the Bonham name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Robert Alexander Bonham

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 79.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Bonham

    Died 1951 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. 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 Henry John Bonham

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 15 records for Bonham in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Bonham name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record E. Bonham

    Warwickshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Bonham

    King's Royal Rifle Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record F. E. Bonham

    Royal Berkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Bonham in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Bonham 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 Johan Bonham

    Married in 1616 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (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 Bonham.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bonham 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.

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