The Parham surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 15,846 people carried this name — #2,302 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 15,387 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Parham surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

His entry covers Parham and Parram.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 584 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Parham was found among the farmers of Wiltshire: 18 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Wiltshire 18

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

52 families named Parham, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 198 people lived in those households, 3.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. 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 21
Virginia 11
Massachusetts 8
Maine 4
Vermont 4
New Hampshire 3
Pennsylvania 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. 256 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Parham in American newspapers,
1900–1926.

Newspaper page from South Bend News-times carrying the name Parham
South Bend News-times 1926-10-31
Newspaper page from The Wichita Daily Eagle carrying the name Parham
The Wichita Daily Eagle 1900-04-25
Newspaper page from The Cairo Bulletin carrying the name Parham
The Cairo Bulletin 1914-09-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 32,340 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Parham in Australian newspapers,
1850s–2000s.

5,406 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Parham. The most, 1,365, 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 South Australia, at 6.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 3,958
Western Australia 669
New South Wales 286
Victoria 273
Queensland 150
Tasmania 49
Northern Territory 8
ACT (Canberra) 6

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

Who carried it

People named Parham,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Frederick William Parham 1856–1927 · writer
  • Helena Beatrice Richenda Parham 1862–1947 · writer
  • Mary Kell Duncan 1863–1944
  • Arthur Parham 1883–1961 · Anglican priest
  • Tiny Parham 1900–1943 · composer
  • Bayard Eugene Vincent Parham 1902–1987 · agronomist

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

In the public record

People named Parham,
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 States971 records

971 records of the Parham name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 564
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 244
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 101
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 24
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 21
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Wayne Parham

    Born 1947; from El Paso, Texas. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Hua Nghia, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Walter F. Parham

    Born 1919 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1941 at Oklahoma City; farm hand from Rogers County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Dick Duck Cemetery, Claremore, Oklahoma.

    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 Chas Parham

    Arrived at New York in 1835 aboard the Cosmo from Bristol, aged 18; agriculturist. From Great Britain.

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

Showing 3 of 971 records for Parham 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia48 records

48 records of the Parham name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 28
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 14
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 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 William Parham

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Pestongee Bomangee, sailing from Plymouth in 1852. Native of Sussex.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Wilfred George Parham

    Depot starter of Northcote, Victoria; died 1970.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 James Parham

    Arrived in Victoria in 1880 aboard the Cotopaxi, aged 37.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 48 records for Parham in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom7 records

7 records of the Parham 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 C. Parham

    King's (Liverpool 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 A. J. Parham

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

    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 W. G. Parham

    Wiltshire 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 7 records for Parham 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).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Parham name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Matilda Alexander Parham

    Died 1973; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  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 Ernest Albert Parham

    Died in service in 1917.

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

    Died in service in 1942.

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

Showing 3 of 4 records for Parham in Canada.

Counts: 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Parham name in New Zealand Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Irwin Alexander Parham

    Died 1977; buried at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Waimakariri 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 Parham.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Parham 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 Parham volume
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