The Ream surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,222 people carried this name — #5,588 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,400 people counted. That is up 2% from 6,109 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Ream surname

From the German surname, Anglicized from Riehm, Röhm, Roehm.

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

57 families named Ream, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 299 people lived in those households, 5.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 12 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

Pennsylvania 34
South Carolina 7
North Carolina 6
Virginia 5
Maryland 4
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. 258 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Ream in American newspapers,
1924.

Newspaper page from Le Messager carrying the name Ream
Le Messager 1924-06-06

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

In print

Ream in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

1,124 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Ream. The most, 207, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 355
New South Wales 243
Queensland 169
South Australia 157
Western Australia 106
Tasmania 72
ACT (Canberra) 3

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

Who carried it

People named Ream,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Norman B. Ream
    Norman B. Ream 1844–1915 · entrepreneur
  • Vinnie Ream
    Vinnie Ream 1847–1914 · artist
  • Laura Ream 1828–1913 · writer
  • John Fletcher Ream 1854–1927 · politician
  • Lilian Ream 1877–1961 · photographer
  • Marion Buckingham Ream 1877–1963

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 Ream,
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 States376 records

376 records of the Ream name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 235
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 90
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 24
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 7
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean 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 William L. Ream

    Born 1920 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Ellington Field Houston; office clerk. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II and the Korean War; died 1961, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    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 Eric Allan Ream

    Born 1948; from Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1969 in Long An, 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 Andreas Ream

    Arrived at New York in 1862 aboard the Agnes from Bremen, aged 26; gardener. From Wurtemberg, Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 376 records for Ream 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, 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).

Australia9 records

9 records of the Ream name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Ream

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Alibi, aged 29; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Wm Ream

    Of Kew, Victoria; died 1935.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Henry Ream

    Married 1885 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 24.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Ream in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Ream name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sophia Ream

    Married 1878 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Ream 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 A. W. Ream

    Second Lieutenant. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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 Ream.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Ream 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 Ream volume
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