Contents [hide]

Abrahams History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Abrahams History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The chronicle of the name Abrahams begins with a family in the Pictish clans of ancient Scotland. The name is derived from the name Abraham. The name means chief (or father) of a multitude and exalted father.

Early Origins of the Abrahams family

The surname Abrahams was first found in Balfeth, in Scotland, in 1163, where Adam Abraham, Bishop of Dunblain, held extensive lands. Further south in Lancashire, the township of Abram was home to another branch of the family. "This township was originally called Adburgham, and afterwards Abraham, and gave name to an ancient family of landowners, of whom Gilbert de Abram and John Abraham are mentioned in the reigns of Henry IV. and Henry V. There are some ancient seats, among which is Abram Hall, a moated brick mansion existing since the time of Henry VI." 1

Early History of the Abrahams family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Abrahams research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1672, 1689 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Abrahams History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Abrahams Spelling Variations

When the first dictionaries were invented in the last few hundred years, spelling gradually became standardized. Before that time, scribes spelled according to sound. Names were often recorded under different spelling variations every time they were written. Abrahams has been written Abraham, Abram, Abrams, Abrahams and others.

Early Notables of the Abrahams family

Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Abrahams Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Abrahams Ranking

In the United States, the name Abrahams is the 12,108^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in South Africa, the name Abrahams is ranked the 83^rd most popular surname with an estimated 57,418 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Abrahams family to Ireland

Some of the Abrahams family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 82 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Abrahams migration to the United States +

The crossing to North America did not seem so great in comparison with the hardships many Scots endured at home. It was long, expensive, and cramped, but also rewarding. North America offered land and the chance for settlers to prove themselves in a new place. And many did prove themselves as they fought to forge a new nation in the American War of Independence. The ancestors of those Scots can now experience much of their once-lost heritage through the Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up across North America in the last century. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important, early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Abrahams:

Abrahams Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Annetje Abrahams, who arrived in New York in 1660 4
Cornelis Abrahams, who arrived in New York in 1660 4
Annetien Abrahams, who arrived in New Netherland(s) in 1660 4
Henry Abrahams, who landed in Maryland in 1661 4
Elizabeth Abrahams, who arrived in Maryland in 1667 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Abrahams Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jacob Abrahams, aged 31, who landed in New York in 1812 4
Elias Abrahams, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1821 4
John Abrahams, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
T Abrahams, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
S Abrahams, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Abrahams migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Abrahams Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Israel Abrahams, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749

Abrahams migration to Australia +

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

Abrahams Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Abrahams, British Convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Henry Abrahams, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Frederick Abrahams, (b. 1804), aged 16, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 8th April 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. Isaac Abrahams, English Music master who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 20th April 1826, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. Joseph Abrahams, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Exmouth" on 3rd March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Abrahams 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:

Abrahams Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Abrahams, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jura" in 1861 10
Solomon Abrahams, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Black Swan" in 1866

Abrahams 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. 11

Abrahams Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Solomon Abrahams, who landed in Jamaica in 1745 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Abrahams (post 1700) +

Gerald Alexander Abrahams MBE (1929-2012), birth name of Gerald Alexander Anderson, an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, known for his futuristic television programs, especially his 1960s productions filmed with "Supermarionation" including Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and more
Mr. Mark Donald Abrahams O.B.E., M.B.E., Wing Commander for the Royal Air Force, previously the Chair for RAF LGBT Freedom Network, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 12
Joseph Abrahams (1855-1938), Australian senior rabbi
Peter Henry Abrahams, South African novelist
Chris Abrahams (b. 1961), New Zealand/Australian pianist, best known for his jazz work
Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams (1885-1957), British Olympic athlete and Chief Justice of Ceylon
Harold Maurice Abrahams (1899-1978), British Olympic champion
Jim Abrahams (b. 1944), American movie director and writer

Historic Events for the Abrahams family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Horace Abrahams, "Tubby" English Lieutenant from London, England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 13

Senghenydd colliery

Mr. Harry Abrahams (b. 1889), Welsh coal miner from Abertridwr, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/exmouth
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html