The Humes surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,093 people carried this name — #5,689 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,300 people counted. That is up 4% from 5,839 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Humes surname

As an English and Welsh surname

An early record he cites: Ralph de la Hume, Norfolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Hume, Humes, Hulme and Hum.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 407 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

27 families named Humes, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 132 people lived in those households, 4.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with one other spelling. 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

Pennsylvania 11
Massachusetts 5
Virginia 4
Maine 2
South Carolina 2
Rhode Island 1
Connecticut 1
New York 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. 246 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Humes in American newspapers,
1881–1912.

Newspaper page from The Progressive Farmer And Southern Farm Gazette carrying the name Humes
The Progressive Farmer And Southern Farm Gazette 1912-09-28
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Humes
The Portland Daily Press 1881-05-18
Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Humes
The Portland Daily Press 1881-05-19

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Humes in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

1,633 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Humes. The most, 358, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 460
Victoria 450
New South Wales 435
South Australia 110
Tasmania 94
Western Australia 67
ACT (Canberra) 15

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

Who carried it

People named Humes,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas William Humes
    Thomas William Humes 1815–1892 · politician
  • William Y. C. Humes
    William Y. C. Humes 1830–1883 · military leader
  • Fred Humes
    Fred Humes 1896–1971 · actor
  • Thomas J. Humes 1849–1904 · politician
  • Helen Humes 1913–1981 · composer
  • John P. Humes 1921–1985 · diplomat

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 Humes,
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 Humes name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 209
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 122
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 40
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 38
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 31
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 31
  • 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. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Marcus W. Humes

    Born 1910 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Shelby; porter from Adams County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1975, buried at Natchez National Cemetery, Mississippi.

    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 Maynard Jewel Humes

    Born 1940; from Urbana, Illinois. U.S. Army, utility helicopter repairer; killed in action 1966 in 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 Elisabeth Humes

    Arrived at New Orleans in 1846 aboard the Peter Hattrick from Bremen, aged 17; farmer. From Germany.

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

Showing 3 of 477 records for Humes 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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: 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).

Australia52 records

52 records of the Humes name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 37
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 11
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • 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 Michael Humes

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Anson, sailing from Plymouth in 1843. Native of Houghton-Le-Spring, Durham. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848. Married 1848 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Charles William Humes

    Born 1895 in Geeveston, Tasmania. Married 1920 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 25.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Frederick W. K. Humes

    Farmer of Tasmania, Victoria; died 1937.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 52 records for Humes in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada19 records

19 records of the Humes name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 14
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mabel I. Humes

    Buried in 1946 at Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    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 Glemmis Humes

    Died 1910 in Annapolis, 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 Hamilton Disstan Humes

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 19 records for Humes in Canada.

Counts: 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. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · 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); 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 Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Humes name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Humes

    Buried in 1933 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 77.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Humes

    Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. 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 page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Humes

    Buried in 1927 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 60.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Humes name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Humes

    Buried in 1775 in Leeuwarden.

    Open Archives, AlleFriezen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Humes in the Netherlands.

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

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Humes.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Humes 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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