Show ContentsIngraham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Ingraham family

The surname Ingraham was first found in Northumberland at Ingram, (meaning grassland enclosure) a small village in the Cheviots on the River Breamish. 1 The first listing of the village was in 1242 when it was listed as Angerham and literally meant "homestead or enclosure with grassland," having derived from the Old English words anger + ham. 2

Alternatively, the name could have been a variant of the Latin name Ingelramus, an ancient personal name which was also listed as Ingelram and Ingerham. 3

According to the source, Freeman's Norman Conquest, "Ingelram the first, was Count of Ponthieu. One of these Ingelrams of Ponthieu married the Conqueror's sister Adelaide. By-and-by Ingeram or Ingram became the recognized form."

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had a plethora of listings: Ingelram (without surname), Cambridgeshire; Sibil Ingelram, Huntingdonshire; Ingeram de Betoyne, Huntingdonshire; Peter Ingeram, Wiltshire; John Ingeram, Yorkshire; and Ingeramus (without surname), Buckinghamshire. 4

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls included: Ingram Carter, wryghl; Willelmus Ingram; Ingelramus de Gren; and Willelmus Ingramson. 4

Interestingly, Thomas Ingerham, a worker, in the Liberary was buried at St. Peter, Cornhill in London, but "in America this form has settled down into Ingraham." 4

In Scotland, the first record of the family was as "Ingelram, later Ingeram, also Middle English Ingelmm, Ingerom. Latinized Ingelramus. Hyngelrom, clericus, witnessed a charter by David I to the Abbey of Neubotle, c. 1142. Engeham (Engellram, Inselleran, Hingelram, Engeram), rector of Peebles, archdeacon of Glasgow, became chancellor of Scotland in the reign of Malcolm IV. Hyngelramus de Monte acuto was a witness in Dumbarton, 1271." 5

Early History of the Ingraham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ingraham research. Another 210 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1142, 1249, 1330, 1476, 1541, 1580, 1604, 1607, 1609, 1614, 1620, 1621, 1623, 1625, 1627, 1640, 1642, 1663, 1666, 1668, 1686, 1688, 1689, 1691, 1694, 1702, 1714, 1715, 1716, 1717, 1721, 1736, 1761, 1762, 1763, 1800 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Ingraham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ingraham Spelling Variations

During the era when a person's name, tribe and posterity was one of his most important possessions, many different spellings were found in the archives examined. Ingraham occurred in many references, and spelling variations of the name found included Ingram, Ingraham, Ingrome, Ingrum and others.

Early Notables of the Ingraham family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

  • Joseph Ingraham (1762-1800) was an American sailor and maritime fur trader who discovered several islands of the Marquesas Islands

Ingraham Ranking

In the United States, the name Ingraham is the 4,528th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 6

Ireland Migration of the Ingraham family to Ireland

Some of the Ingraham family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Ingraham migration to the United States +

Gradually becoming disenchanted with life in Ireland many of these uprooted families sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships often arrived with only 60 to 70% of their original passenger list, many dying of illness and the elements, were buried at sea. In North America, early immigrants bearing the family name Ingraham, or a spelling variation of the surname include:

Ingraham Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Ingraham, who settled in Boston in 1635
  • Edward Ingraham, who landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1638 7
  • William Ingraham, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1653 7
  • John Ingraham, who arrived in New England in 1666 7
Ingraham Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Robert Ingraham, who arrived in South Carolina in 1806 7
  • Richard Ingraham, aged 62, who landed in South Carolina in 1812 7
  • Thomas Ingraham, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 7
  • Mr. S. Ingraham, (b. 1817), aged 24, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth aboard the ship "Cornwall" arriving in the United States on 3 June 1841 8
  • John Ingraham, aged 18, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1843 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Ingraham (post 1700) +

  • Laura Anne Ingraham (b. 1964), American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator on Fox News
  • Elizabeth Wright Ingraham (1922-2013), American architect and educator, granddaughter of architect Frank Lloyd Wright
  • Edward Sturgis Ingraham (1852-1926), American first superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools, a noted mountaineer who climbed to the summit of Mount Rainier 13 times
  • Chrys Ingraham (b. 1947), American Professor of Sociology at Purchase College of the State University of New York
  • Andrew Ingraham (1841-1905), American educator, writer and soldier
  • George Landon Ingraham (1847-1931), American lawyer and judge in New York City, Presiding Justice of New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 1910
  • Colonel Prentiss Ingraham (1843-1904), American colonel in the Confederate Army, a mercenary throughout the 1860s, and a fiction writer
  • William Moulton Ingraham (1870-1951), American politician from Portland, Maine, Assistant Secretary of War in 1916
  • Pat Ingraham (b. 1950), American Republican member of the Montana Legislature (2007-2015)
  • Lloyd Ingraham (1874-1956), American film actor and director who appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950,
  • ... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

USS Arizona
  • Mr. David Archie Ingraham, American Fire Controlman Third Class 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 9


The Ingraham 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: Magnanimus esto
Motto Translation: Be great of mind.


Suggested Readings for the name Ingraham +

  • Greener Pastures: The Loyalist Experience of Benjamin Ingraham By Earle S. Thomas.

  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. 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)
  6. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  7. 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)
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
  9. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html


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