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Durham Family History

Durham Surname Meaning

English:: habitational name from the city of Durham recorded as Dunholm in 1056 and Duram in 1297 named from Old English dūn ‘hill’ (see Down ) + late Old English holm (from Old Norse holmr ‘island’).

variant of Derham.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

Where is the Durham family from?

You can see how Durham families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Durham family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Durham families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 521 Durham families living in Yorkshire. This was about 20% of all the recorded Durham's in United Kingdom. Yorkshire had the highest population of Durham families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Durham surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Durham ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Durham. 9% of Durham men worked as a General Labourer and 68% of Durham women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Durham were Farmer and Housewife.

View Census Data for Durham | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    9%
  • Builders Labourer
    5%
  • Colliery Hewer
    5%
  • Farmer
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    68%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    4%
  • Private Means
    3%
  • Housewife
    3%

What Durham family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 198,000 census records available for the last name Durham. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Durham census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Durham

Passenger Lists

There are 14,000 immigration records available for the last name Durham. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Durham immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 41,000 military records available for the last name Durham. For the veterans among your Durham ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Durham military records

You've only scratched the surface of Durham family history

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