The Pulliam surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,613 people carried this name — #3,099 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,400 people counted. That is up 6% from 10,923 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Pulliam surname

From Anglo-Norman pulain (“foal, colt”), from Old French polain (“foal, colt”). Alternatively, it may derive from Welsh ap (“son of”) and William.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

22 families named Pulliam, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 121 people lived in those households, 5.5 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

Virginia 11
North Carolina 7
South Carolina 4

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. 258 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Pulliam in American newspapers,
1909–1910.

Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name Pulliam
Okolona Messenger 1910-04-07
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Pulliam
Daily Kennebec Journal 1909-07-30
Newspaper page from Okolona Messenger carrying the name Pulliam
Okolona Messenger 1909-03-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,562 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Pulliam in Australian newspapers,
1890s–1950s.

99 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pulliam. The most, 20, date from the 1950s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 31
New South Wales 23
Queensland 16
South Australia 13
Western Australia 12
Tasmania 3

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

Who carried it

People named Pulliam,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Harry Clay Pulliam
    Harry Clay Pulliam 1869–1909 · politician
  • Willis C. Pulliam
    Willis C. Pulliam 1878–1952 · politician
  • James A. Pulliam 1863–1934 · politician
  • George Pulliam 1923–1956 · ice hockey player
  • James Pulliam 1925–2005 · architect

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 Pulliam,
in the records of the United States.

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 States592 records

592 records of the Pulliam name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 376
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 169
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 19
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 8
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Robert Lee Pulliam

    Born 1941; from Petersburg, Virginia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1971 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at City Point National Cemetery, Virginia.

    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 Hubert E. Pulliam

    Born 1922 in New Mexico. Enlisted 1942 at Santa Fe; office clerk from San Miguel County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1978, buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Henry Pulliam

    U.S. Army veteran. Born 1889, died 1949; buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Virginia.

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

Showing 3 of 592 records for Pulliam 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) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · 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: 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pulliam.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Pulliam 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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