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 found in England more than any other country/territory. It may also occur as:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Downham? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 162,950th most commonly used last name in the world, held by approximately 1 in 2,732,488 people. Downham is predominantly found in Europe, where 55 percent of Downham reside; 54 percent reside in Northern Europe and 54 percent reside in British Isles.

This surname is most numerous in England, where it is held 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. Other than England Downham occurs in 25 countries. It is also found in The United States, where 24 percent live and Australia, where 10 percent live.

Downham Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Downham has changed through the years. In England the share of the population with the last name expanded 163 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 869 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Wales it expanded 450 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Downham Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the surname is predominantly Anglican (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Downham surname are 23.7% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 70.47% registered with 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