Downham Surname

162,950th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,667 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Isle of Man

Downham Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Downham,' parishes in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lancashire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

Clemence de Dunham, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Robert de Dunham, Norfolk, ibid.

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Downham Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,3891:40,1145,166
United States6431:563,70046,375
Australia2791:96,75910,970
Canada1211:304,50928,133
South Africa841:644,97347,754
New Zealand351:129,38115,740
Scotland221:243,35512,191
Mexico211:5,910,77231,438
Northern Ireland111:167,7318,683
Wales91:343,83718,086
Isle of Man71:12,2602,387
Norway71:734,61250,907
Thailand61:11,773,058553,295
United Arab Emirates61:1,527,04651,993
Netherlands51:3,377,435111,911
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
China41:341,830,39216,990
Germany31:26,835,153452,368
France31:22,140,907385,998
Andorra21:41,9191,654
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Botswana11:2,186,92930,250
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland61:738,31121,113
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England8541:28,5433,864
Wales21:784,20816,349
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States741:678,63144,191

Downham Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Downham,' parishes in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lancashire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

Clemence de Dunham, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Robert de Dunham, Norfolk, ibid.

John de Dunham, Lincolnshire, ibid.

Stephen de Dunham, Suffolk, ibid.

Roger Dounbam, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Willelmus de Downora, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes Downom, 1379: ibid.

Johannes de Donnoint 1379: ibid.

1802. Married — Robert Downham and Margaret Renton: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) belonging to Downham = the Hill Enclosure or Dwelling [Old English dun, a hill + ham(m, an enclosure, dwelling]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Parishes, &c., in cos. Norfolk, Cambridge, Essex, and Lancaster.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Downham Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Downham Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Downham is held by more people in England than any other country or territory. It can appear in the variant forms:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Downham? popularity and diffusion

The last name Downham is the 162,950th most widespread surname at a global level, held by approximately 1 in 2,732,488 people. The last name Downham occurs mostly in Europe, where 55 percent of Downham live; 54 percent live in Northern Europe and 54 percent live in British Isles.

It is most frequently occurring in England, where it is borne by 1,389 people, or 1 in 40,114. In England it is most common in: Greater London, where 15 percent live, Essex, where 10 percent live and Lancashire, where 7 percent live. Outside of England this last name occurs in 25 countries. It also occurs in The United States, where 24 percent live and Australia, where 10 percent live.

Downham Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Downham has changed over time. In England the number of people carrying the Downham last name grew 163 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it grew 869 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Wales it grew 450 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Downham Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the last name is principally Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Downham surname are 23.7% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 70.47% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Downham earn in different countries varies significantly. In Norway they earn 19.48% more than the national average, earning 413,512 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 44.59% more than the national average, earning R 343,596 per year; in United States they earn 13.94% more than the national average, earning $49,166 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.34% more than the national average, earning $55,318 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Downam92139/
Downhan8615/
Downahm862/
Dawnham862/
Downgam861/
Downajm861/
Downan7712/
Dawnam771/
Dawnamm711/
Downane710/
Downoumd671/
Dawnheim670/
Dowingnan6345/
Davnam62251/
Dawnan629/
Downon620/
Dovnan620/
Dabnam620/
Dhavnam5719/
Dobnean571/
Davnatm571/
Dawnann571/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Downham
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis