Orem History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

Early Origins of the Orem family

The surname Orem was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat in their territories. The Pictish influence on Scottish history diminished after Kenneth Macalpine became King of all Scotland. But those east coast families still played an important role in government and were more accessible to Government than their western highland counterparts. Allegiances were important to Scottish middle age survival. Later they held a family seat in the parish Kennay and Henry Owrum was elected a councillor of Aberdeen in 1479.

The name is derived from Ormr, 'serpent,' a favorite Old Norse personal name. "Orm or Honn was sacerdos of Hume between 1153-1156. Orm filius Eilaf witnessed King David's great charter to Melrose Abbey, a. 1153. John, son of Orm, was one of the witnesses to Waldeve's charter of Dundas to Helias, son of Huctred, and is probably the John filius Horum who witnessed a charter by EsChina uxor Walteri. Orm was father of John, lord of Hunum (Hownam), c. 1164-1174, and William filius Orm witnessed a cherter by Dovenald, abbe de Brechin, c. 1204-1211." 1

Further to the south in England, John Orum (died 1436?) was an English churchman and academic. He was vice-chancellor of Oxford University, and Archdeacon of Barnstaple from 1400 to 1429.

Early History of the Orem family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Orem research. Another 204 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1305, 1502, 1564, 1565, 1607, 1617, 1633, 1644, 1672, 1694, 1722, 1725 and 1745 are included under the topic Early Orem History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Orem Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Orem, Orme, Orrem, Orum, Orun, Orumm, Oramm, Orunn, Orenn, Oren, Oram and many more.

Early Notables of the Orem family

More information is included under the topic Early Orem Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Orem Ranking

In the United States, the name Orem is the 16,410^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Orem migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Orem Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Orem, who landed in New England in 1721 3

Orem Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Albert Joshua Orem, aged 53, who settled in America, in 1904
J. Orem, aged 20, who immigrated to America, in 1904
Mrs. A. Y. Orem, aged 51, who immigrated to the United States, in 1904
Mrs. Orem, aged 41, who landed in America, in 1907
Hugh Orem, aged 50, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Orem (post 1700) +

Preston Ware Orem (1865-1938), American composer, pianist, and writer
Dale L. Orem (1938-1984), American businessman and politician, Mayor of Jeffersonville, Indiana (1984 to 1991)

Citations +

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)
"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)