Contents [hide]

Durham History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Durham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The Durham surname is a habitational name, originally taken on from the city of Durham, in northeastern England. This place name comes from the Old English "dun," meaning "hil." Another source claims the name "is derived from the Saxon Bun and holm, a town in a wood." 1

Early Origins of the Durham family

The surname Durham was first found in "Durham in the north of England, anciently Dunhelm or Dunholm." 2 3 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Walter de Durham and William de Dureham in London and John de Durame in Essex. 4 By far the lion's share of records are found north in Scotland where "Robertus de Durham was one of twelve Scots knights appointed to settle the laws of the marches in 1249. The seal of Walter Durham of Dumfriesshire who rendered homage in 1290 reads S' Valteri Dwrant. " 2

Early History of the Durham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Durham research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1246, 1296, 1399, 1565, 1611, 1622, 1658 and 1684 are included under the topic Early Durham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Durham Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Durham, Durehame, Durrame, Dirom and others.

Early Notables of the Durham family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

Alexander Durhame, argentier to the king and queen in 1565; John Durham, English politician, Member of Parliament for Middlesex in 1399; and Alexander Durham, Minder of the Royal Mint
James Durham (1622-1658), was a Scottish covenanting divine, the eldest son of John Durham of Grange Durham Angus, and proprietor of 'a good estate,' then called Easter Powrie, in the county of Forfar...

Durham Ranking

In the United States, the name Durham is the 696^th most popular surname with an estimated 42,279 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Durham family to Ireland

Some of the Durham family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Durham migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Durham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Elizabeth Durham who settled in Virginia in 1653
John Durham, who arrived in Virginia in 1658 6
Mary Durham, who arrived in Maryland in 1658 6
Richard Durham, who landed in Maryland in 1659 6
John Durham, who arrived in Maryland in 1673 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Durham Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Daniel Durham, who arrived in Virginia in 1711 6
Daniell Durham, who landed in Virginia in 1711 6
George Durham, who settled in Virginia in 1721
Robert Durham, who settled in Maryland in 1729 with his wife Elizabeth
John Durham, who landed in Virginia in 1749 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Durham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel, Durham Jr., who landed in America in 1801-1802 6
Samuel Durham, who arrived in New York in 1801
James Durham, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 6
Margaret Durham, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 6
Mr. Durham, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Durham migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Durham Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. John Durney U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 7

Durham Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Miss. Bridget Durham, aged 7 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "John Munn" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in September 1847 8

Durham Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

William Durham, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907

Durham migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Durham Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Durham, English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
R.G. Durham, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Posthumous" in 1849 10

Durham migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Durham Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mary Durham, aged 54, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Catherine Stewart Forbes" in 1841
Mr. John Durham, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 11

Contemporary Notables of the name Durham (post 1700) +

Jimmie Bob Durham (1940-2021), American sculptor, essayist and poet who received the Günther-Peill-Preis (2003), the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Robert Rauschenberg Award (2017), and the 58th Venice Biennale's Golden Lion for lifetime achievement (2019)
Dianne Durham (1968-2021), American artistic gymnast who won the all-around title at the US National Championships in 1983 becoming the first African American athlete to do so
Woody Lombardi Durham (1941-2018), American play-by-play radio announcer for the North Carolina Tar Heels football and men’s basketball programs
John Stafford Durham (1843-1918), American Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Perryville
Joseph Vann "Joe" Durham (1931-2016), American Major League Baseball player and coach; he played from 1954 to 1959
Walter Thomas Durham (1925-2013), American historian and author, Tennessee State Historian
Rhea Durham (b. 1978), American fashion model who has appeared on the cover of major fashion magazines including French Vogue, Italian Marie Claire, and American ELLE
Admiral Sir Philip Charles Calderwood Henderson Durham GCB (1763-1845), Scottish-born, British Royal Navy officer who served in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars
Leon "Bull" Durham (b. 1957), American former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder
Jim Durham (b. 1947), American sportscaster
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Durham family +

USS Arizona

Mr. William Teasdale Durham, American Seaman First Class from North Carolina, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 12

The Durham Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ultra fert animus
Motto Translation: The mind bears onwards

Citations +

Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 26)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The POSTHUMOUS 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Posthumous.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html