The Willingham surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,818 people carried this name — #2,814 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 23,000 people counted. That is up 3% from 12,475 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Willingham surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

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

In print

Willingham in American newspapers,
1909–1919.

Newspaper page from The News Scimitar carrying the name Willingham
The News Scimitar 1919-06-03
Newspaper page from The Commercial carrying the name Willingham
The Commercial 1918-03-15
Newspaper page from The Brandon News carrying the name Willingham
The Brandon News 1909-04-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 22,963 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Willingham in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1950s.

753 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Willingham. The most, 254, date from the 1940s. 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 453
Queensland 158
New South Wales 98
South Australia 19
Tasmania 15
ACT (Canberra) 3
Western Australia 3

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

Who carried it

People named Willingham,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bessie Tift 1860–1936 · philanthropist
  • Ken Willingham 1912–1975 · association football coach
  • Ken Willingham 1912–1975 · association football coach
  • Calder Willingham 1922–1995 · screenwriter
  • Noble Willingham 1931–2004 · actor
  • Larry Willingham 1948–2025 · American football player

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

In the public record

People named Willingham,
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 States662 records

662 records of the Willingham name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 434
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 183
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 13
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 2
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Nathaniel Willingham

    Born 1946; from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Philadelphia National Cemetery, Pennsylvania.

    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 Bruce H. Willingham

    Born 1921 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1942 at Oklahoma City; charwoman. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Oklahoma City, 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 Charles Willingham

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the Calabria from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 33; locksmith. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 662 records for Willingham 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 · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia41 records

41 records of the Willingham name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 25
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Arthur J. Willingham

    Arrived in Queensland in 1926 aboard the Esperance Bay, aged 2.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henry Charles Willingham

    Retired of Hamilton, Victoria; died 1987.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record William Willingham

    Left Hobart Town in 1846 aboard the Sophia, bound for Bay Whaling, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 41 records for Willingham 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). 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); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the Willingham name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Willingham

    Buried in 1849 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 21.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record G. Willingham

    Essex 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 A. L. Willingham

    London 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: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); 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 Willingham name in Canada City of Winnipeg cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Archibald Willingham

    Died 1970; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Margaret Grace Willingham

    Died 1973; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Counts: City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Willingham.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Willingham 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 Willingham volume
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