| ![Show Contents]() Mecham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The Irish surname Mecham was originally Ó Miadhachain in Irish Gaelic, which is derived from the word "miadhach," meaning "honorable." 1 Early Origins of the Mecham familyThe surname Mecham was first found in County Leitrim (Irish: Liatroim) anciently the western half of the kingdom of Breifne, located in Northeastern Ireland, in Leinster province, where they held a family seat from ancient times. Early History of the Mecham familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mecham research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mecham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Mecham Spelling VariationsLacking standardized spellings, scribes and church officials recorded people's name according to how they sounded. This practice often led to the misleading result of one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Mecham are preserved in the archival documents of the period. The various spellings of the name that were found include O'Meehan, Meighan, MacMeehan, MacMeekin, MacMeekan,MacMehan, MacMehon and many more. Early Notables of the Mecham familyMore information is included under the topic Early Mecham Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Mecham RankingIn the United States, the name Mecham is the 6,853rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2
 Mecham migration to the United States | + |
Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of Mecham or one of its variants:
Mecham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- James, Barbary, Isaac, Jeremiah, and William Mecham, who all arrived at New York, from Ireland in 1817
- Barbary Mecham, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 3
- James Mecham, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 3
- William Mecham, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 3
| Mecham migration to West Indies | + |
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4Mecham Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century- William Mecham, who settled in Barbados or St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
- William Mecham, aged 20, who landed in Barbados in 1635 3
- Mr. William Mecham, (b. 1615), aged 20, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Peter Bonaventure" arriving in Barbados and St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 5
| Contemporary Notables of the name Mecham (post 1700) | + |
- Leonidas Ralph Mecham (b. 1928), the former American Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
- Glenn J. Mecham (b. 1936), American politician, Mayor of Ogden, Utah; Elected 1991 6
- Evan Mecham (1924-2008), American Republican politician, Candidate for Arizona State House of Representatives, 1952; Member of Arizona State Senate, 1960-62; Governor of Arizona, 1987-88; Defeated, 1964, 1974, 1978, 1982 6
- Evan Mecham (1924-2008), American politician, Governor of Arizona, and veteran of World War II
- George Mecham, British naval officer who participated in the search for Franklin's lost expedition
- William Mecham (1853-1902), British cartoonist and performer
- MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 23rd September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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Mecham migration to the United States 
Mecham migration to West Indies 
England
Ireland
