The Isham surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,139 people carried this name — #7,988 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 71,400 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,985 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Isham surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Isham» (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 Isham’.

His entry covers Isham and Isom.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 421 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

23 Isham families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 117 people lived in those households, 5.1 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

Connecticut 12
Vermont 5
South Carolina 4
New Hampshire 1
North 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. 247 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Isham in American newspapers,
1874–1914.

Newspaper page from St. Landry Democrat carrying the name Isham
St. Landry Democrat 1882-06-24
Newspaper page from American Citizen carrying the name Isham
American Citizen 1874-05-09
Newspaper page from Audubon Republican carrying the name Isham
Audubon Republican 1914-04-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 60,042 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Isham in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1950s.

267 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Isham. The most, 44, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 62
Victoria 59
New South Wales 55
Queensland 52
Tasmania 15
Western Australia 13
ACT (Canberra) 5
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Isham,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Pierrepont Isham d. 1906 · lawyer
  • Giles Isham d. 1559 · politician
  • Robert Isham d. 1564
  • Martha Jane Eleanor Wilson d. 1877
  • Louisa Isham d. 1891
  • Henry Isham d. 1825

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

In the public record

People named Isham,
in the records of 2 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 States287 records

287 records of the Isham name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 136
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 52
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 37
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 32
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 21
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 8
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ronald D. Isham

    Born 1909 in North Dakota. Enlisted 1942 at Tacoma, Washington; musician from Pierce County, Washington. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Woodlawn Gardens, Lacey, Washington.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Servia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 52; merchant. Bound for Baltimore.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record David Joseph Isham

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1932, died 2001; buried at St Francis Cemetery, Hayward, Wisconsin.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 287 records for Isham 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) · 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, Flexoline Index Data File (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Isham 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 J. D. Isham

    Wiltshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

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

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Isham.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Isham 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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