The Reams surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,118 people carried this name — #6,618 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 4,910 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share
WhatsApp Pinterest

What the name means

The meaning of the Reams surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

An early record he cites: Hugo de Reymes, Norfolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 639 · public domain.

In print

Reams in American newspapers,
1928.

Newspaper page from The Frontier carrying the name Reams — **The Frontier** 1928-12-13

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

In print

Reams in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

835 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Reams. The most, 161, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 398

South Australia 155

Victoria 146

Queensland 65

Western Australia 41

Tasmania 19

ACT (Canberra) 8

Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Reams,
with a public archive behind them.

Frazier Reams 1897–1971 · lawyer
Michael Reams d. 2014
Frazier Reams, Jr. 1929–2020 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 5 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Reams,
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 States272 records

272 records of the Reams name in the United States

U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 173
U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 74
New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 11
New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 6
Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
Sacramento County historic burials 1

Example: U.S. registration card, 1942

Military record John E. Reams
Born 1919 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1941 at Elkins; driver from Randolph County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Hazelwood Cemetery, Elkins, West Virginia.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
Example: passenger manifest, 1903

Passenger record John Reams
Arrived at New York in 1850 aboard the Norway from Liverpool, aged 24; laborer. From Ireland.
U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)
Example: U.S. war memorial

War record William Blair Reams
Born 1934; from Morristown, Tennessee. U.S. Army; died of illness 1968 in South Vietnam.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 272 records for Reams in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia12 records

12 records of the Reams name in Australia

Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 3

Example: probate petition, 1848

Probate record Ronald Herbert Reams
Retired laundry hand of Sebastopol, Victoria; died 1989.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Example: passenger manifest, 1903

Passenger record Thomas Reams
Sailed from Victoria in 1863 aboard the Bruce, bound for Otago Pt Chalmers, aged 26.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Example: probate petition, 1848

Probate record Elizabeth Reams
Of Kew L A, Victoria; died 1896.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Reams in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Reams.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Reams 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 Reams volume