The McCollum surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,990 people carried this name — #1,798 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 14,700 people counted. That is up 3% from 19,341 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McCollum surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Coluim (“son of Colum”).

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

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 19 births for the McCollum name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 9 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Tyrone, and Donegal.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 19

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

66 families named McCollum, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 365 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCollum, McAllum, McCallam, McCallum, McCollam, McCollom, McCollums, McColm, McColom, McCullum. 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

North Carolina 28
New York 14
South Carolina 9
Maryland 4
Pennsylvania 3
New Hampshire 2
Vermont 2
Virginia 2
Maine 1
Connecticut 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. 252 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McCollum in American newspapers,
1905–1922.

Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name McCollum
The Washington Times 1922-06-21
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name McCollum
Evening Star 1905-02-16
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name McCollum
The Washington Times 1905-02-16

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 45,274 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCollum in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1980s.

1,048 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCollum. The most, 348, 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 547
Victoria 201
Queensland 128
Western Australia 113
South Australia 28
ACT (Canberra) 13
Tasmania 11
Northern Territory 5

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

Who carried it

People named McCollum,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Elmer McCollum
    Elmer McCollum 1879–1967 · biochemist
  • Cara McCollum 1992–2016 · beauty pageant contestant

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McCollum,
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 States1,324 records

1,324 records of the McCollum name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 692
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 276
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 161
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 68
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 58
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 36
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 24
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William J. McCollum

    Born 1931; from Anderson County, South Carolina. U.S. Army, heavy weapons infantryman; declared dead 1950 in North Korea. Buried at M.j. Dolly Cooper Veterans Cemetery, Anderson, South Carolina.

    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 Charles W. McCollum

    Born 1902 in Nevada. Enlisted 1942 at Salt Lake City, Utah; driver from Washoe County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1967, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    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 Robert McCollum

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Chicago from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 25; clerk. From Glasgow, Scotland; bound for Illinois.

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

Showing 3 of 1,324 records for McCollum 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) · 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: 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).

Canada108 records

108 records of the McCollum name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 100
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 4
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Phebe Ann McCollum

    Died 1916 in Camden, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Colin W. McCollum

    Buried in 1953 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  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 Jack Ross McCollum

    Died in service in 1945.

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

Showing 3 of 108 records for McCollum in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).

Australia47 records

47 records of the McCollum name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 35
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 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 James McCollum

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Mangles, arriving 1828; ticket of leave 1832. Native of Londonderry.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. 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 James McCollum

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lady Franklin, sailing from Norfolk Island in 1844.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Morning Star, aged 30; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 47 records for McCollum in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · 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).

New Zealand29 records

29 records of the McCollum name in New Zealand Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Alexander McCollum

    Buried in 1982 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 84.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Theophilus McCollum

    Buried in 1930 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 66.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alexander George McCollum

    Buried in 1964 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 53.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 29 records for McCollum in New Zealand.

Counts: Thames-Coromandel District 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCollum.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCollum 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 McCollum volume
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