How common is the surname Pelham?

3,282 people in the United States had the surname Pelham in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 94,072 Americans. It ranked 9,854th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Pelham?

Max Pelham, American professional wrestler.

Where is the surname Pelham most common?

Wikidata records people named Pelham in the United States.

Is the surname Pelham getting more or less common?

More common. 3,175 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,282 in 2010, up 3.4%.

Is Pelham also a first name?

Yes. Pelham is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Pelham

An English place surname, carried by 3,282 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex P450

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Pelham is more common than 93.9% of them.

Origin

English origin

From the Old English personal name *Pēola + hām (“homestead”).

Pelham is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 3,282 people named Pelham in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 94,072 Americans. That is up 3.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 3,175.

#9,854

rank among US surnames

3,282

people in 2010

1.1

per 100,000 Americans

+3.4%

change since 2000 (was #9,406)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#9,848	Cavalier	3,285	93,986
#9,850	Bittle	3,284	94,015
#9,853	Morello	3,283	94,044
#9,854	Velazco	3,282	94,072
#9,859	O'Boyle	3,281	94,101

Who is named Pelham

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

76% of people named Pelham identified as white (not Hispanic), 17% as Black (not Hispanic) and 4.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 76%
Black (not Hispanic) 17%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.0%
Two or more races 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Pelhams

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Max Pelham
American professional wrestler, born 1986

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Pelham

Phelan

Pelham has the Soundex code P450, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P450.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Pelham come from?: From the Old English personal name *Pēola + hām (“homestead”).
How common is the surname Pelham?: 3,282 people in the United States had the surname Pelham in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 94,072 Americans. It ranked 9,854th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Pelham?: In the 2010 Census, 76% of people named Pelham identified as white (not Hispanic), and 17% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Pelham?: Max Pelham, American professional wrestler.
Where is the surname Pelham most common?: Wikidata records people named Pelham in the United States.
What type of surname is Pelham?: Pelham is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Pelham getting more or less common?: More common. 3,175 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 3,282 in 2010, up 3.4%.
Is Pelham also a first name?: Yes. Pelham is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.