Fun Facts About the Name Pelham
- 123 babies named Pelham: U.S. records list 123 babies given the name Pelham from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Pelham Mean?
Pelham is an English name of place-name origin, so its meaning comes from the Old English words behind that place. The second element is Old English hām, meaning "homestead, village, estate" - the same common element seen in many English place names. The first element is not securely identified. The usual explanation treats it as an Old English personal name, giving the sense "Peola's homestead" or "homestead of Peola." A competing explanation reads the first element as a topographic word - a term for a pool, or for a stake or post (related to modern English pale) - which would give "homestead by the pool" or "homestead at the stakes." Because the recorded spellings do not settle which word lies behind it, the precise original sense is uncertain; the "homestead" element is the part that is secure.
Pelham Name History & Origins
Pelham started as an English place name. The Hertfordshire village of Pelham - still present as the three parishes of Brent Pelham, Furneux Pelham, and Stocking Pelham - is the source of the surname. Medieval records render the name in forms such as Peleham, which keep the -ham ("homestead") ending.
From Hertfordshire the surname spread, and a leading Pelham family settled in Sussex, seated at Laughton. In the 18th century the family reached national prominence: Henry Pelham served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, and his brother Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle, held that office as well.
As a given name, Pelham is a transferred use of the surname, used in the English-speaking world mainly to honor the family or a relative. The writer Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881 - 1975) is a well-known bearer, and the cricketer and administrator Pelham Warner (1873 - 1963) is another. The surname also traveled to North America, where towns such as Pelham, New York, and Pelham, New Hampshire, are traditionally said to have been named for Thomas Pelham-Holles, Duke of Newcastle.
How Popular is the Name Pelham?
Pelham has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1917. Its best rank was #2,724 in 1913.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | #5,676 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #3,831 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1953 | #4,212 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #3,627 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1947 | #4,137 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1943 | #3,926 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1939 | #3,397 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1934 | #4,086 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1933 | #3,210 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1928 | #3,295 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1926 | #4,675 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1924 | #4,229 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1923 | #3,732 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #4,806 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #3,739 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1919 | #3,315 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1918 | #3,621 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1917 | #2,895 | 9 | 0.0010% |
| 1913 | #2,724 | 6 | 0.0012% |
| 1912 | #2,818 | 5 | 0.0012% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
