The Tatum surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 24,558 people carried this name — #1,451 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,000 people counted. That is up 5% from 23,300 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Tatum surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Tatham, from Old English Tāta, a personal name of unknown meaning + hām.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

An early record he cites: Thomas de Tatham, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Tatham, Tattam, Tatum, Tateham and Tatem.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 738 · public domain.

In print

Tatum in American newspapers,
1910–1919.

Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Tatum
The Hattiesburg News 1910-12-02
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Tatum
The Washington Herald 1915-02-28
Newspaper page from The Chattanooga News carrying the name Tatum
The Chattanooga News 1919-08-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,165 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Tatum in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

394 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Tatum. The most, 123, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 3.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 266
New South Wales 63
Queensland 28
South Australia 17
Western Australia 13
Tasmania 1

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

Who carried it

People named Tatum,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lawrie Tatum
    Lawrie Tatum 1822–1900
  • Edward Lawrie Tatum
    Edward Lawrie Tatum 1909–1975 · physician
  • Donn Tatum
    Donn Tatum 1913–1993 · businessperson
  • Johnny Tatum d. 1992
  • Edward John Tatum 1851–1929 · botanist
  • Arthur Lawrie Tatum 1884–1955 · university teacher

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 Tatum,
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 States1,214 records

1,214 records of the Tatum name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 782
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 313
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 49
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 31
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 29
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Harold Dean Tatum

    Born 1932; from Sandy Springs, Georgia. U.S. Marine Corps, m60a1 tank crewman; died of wounds 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    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 Doyle C. Tatum

    Born 1916 in Florida. Enlisted 1945 at Camp Blanding; sales clerk from Muscogee County, Georgia. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Andersonville National Cemetery, Georgia.

    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 Aaron Ray Tatum

    U.S. Army veteran. Born 1955, died 2001; buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

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

Showing 3 of 1,214 records for Tatum 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted). 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).

Australia6 records

6 records of the Tatum name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 3
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Peter Tatum

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Goldfinder, aged 22; Scottish.

    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 George Thomas Tatum

    Retired of Rosebud, Victoria; died 1997.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record J. H. Tatum

    Of Wombat, New South Wales; died 1900.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Tatum in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands6 records

6 records of the Tatum name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 5
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Arlandina Tatum

    Married in 1756 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Zubli Justus Everhart Tatum

    In the population register of Zundert; born 1843.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Cornelia Tatum

    Married in 1739 in Cothen.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Tatum in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Tatum 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 F. A. Tatum

    King's Own Scottish Borderers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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 C. Tatum

    Suffolk Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    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 B. Tatum

    Rifle Brigade. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Tatum 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).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Tatum name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. 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 Joseph Tatum

    Died in service in 1918.

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

    Manitoba Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Tatum.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Tatum 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 Tatum volume
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