# Needham (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/needham/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An unincorporated community in Johnson County, Indiana, United States, derived from the surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 10,983 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,289 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 28,111 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.6% (10,809 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Neadham |

## Etymology

From Old English nīed (“need, necessity”) + hām (“homestead”), i.e. a place that provided a poor living.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Needham in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.0% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Needham in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Needham

- Joseph Needham, British biochemist, historian and sinologist (1900–1995)
- Hal Needham, American stunt performer and film director (1931-2013)
- Matthew Needham, British actor
- James George Needham, American entomologist (1868–1957)
- Tracey Needham, American actress
- Derek Needham, American and Montenegrin basketball player

## Similar surnames

Newton, Nathan, Nation, Nadeem, Nodine, Nydam.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.