The Elam surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,138 people carried this name — #2,556 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 13,776 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Elam surname

A Meitei surname from Manipuri.

Borrowed from Manipuri ꯑꯦꯂꯥꯝ (ʼelām).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Elam» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

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

An early record he cites: Henry de Ellham, London, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 268 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

24 people named Elam is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 24

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In the first U.S. census, 1790

18 Elam families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 110 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. 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

Virginia 16
Rhode Island 1
South Carolina 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. 239 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Elam in American newspapers,
1914.

Newspaper page from Omaha Daily Bee carrying the name Elam
Omaha Daily Bee 1914-05-29
Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Elam
The Birmingham Age-herald 1914-07-12
Newspaper page from Omaha Daily Bee carrying the name Elam
Omaha Daily Bee 1914-05-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 67,494 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Elam in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1990s.

751 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Elam. The most, 113, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 344
Victoria 195
Queensland 116
South Australia 51
Western Australia 23
Tasmania 20
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Elam,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Barton Elam
    Joseph Barton Elam 1821–1885 · lawyer
  • Jack Elam
    Jack Elam 1920–2003 · actor
  • Václav Elam 1560–1622 · type designer
  • Norah Elam 1878–1961 · politician
  • Margaret Elam 1893–
  • Constance Tipper 1894–1995 · scientist

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 Elam,
in the records of 6 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 States739 records

739 records of the Elam name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 457
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 188
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 47
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 16
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 15
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Walter Alan Elam

    Born 1945; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James F. Elam

    Born 1916 in Kentucky. Enlisted 1941 at Louisville; farm hand from Fatette County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Kentucky.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Carl Elam

    Arrived at New York in 1865 aboard the Republic from Bremen, aged 24; tile maker. From Prussia, Germany; bound for Chicago.

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

Showing 3 of 739 records for Elam in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia35 records

35 records of the Elam name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 26
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 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 George Elam

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the James Pattison, arriving 1837; certificate of freedom 1843.

    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 William Elam

    Arrived in Queensland in 1885 aboard the Duke of Argyll, aged 18.

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

    Medical practitioner of Armadale, Victoria; died 1988.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 35 records for Elam 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Elam name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Clarence Pete Cleveland Elam

    Died 1985, aged 87; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eleanor Victoria Elam

    Died 1969, aged 71; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Veronique Lillian Elam

    Died 1987, aged 89; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Elam name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. 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 Guaid Elam

    Died in service in 1945.

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

    Corporal, Eastern Ontario Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Elam name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Etienne Elam

    Born 1906 in Gaillon (Eure); died 1990 in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Elam 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 Theodorus Elam

    Married in 1696 in Bergen op Zoom; born in Keulen.

    Open Archives, West Brabants 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 Elam.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Elam 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 Elam volume
Scroll to Top