Chisholm

Chisholm is a habitational surname — if it's on your family tree, you have ancestors from Chisholme, Scotland, although they were originally of Norman and Saxon descent.

Chisholm derived from the Norman surname De Chese, The -holme suffix was tacked on after a De Chese married a Saxon heiress. The literal translation of Chisholm would be "cheese island," from the Old English cese, meaning "cheese," and holm, "island." However, the correct interpretation is "dairy farmland near the water."

A notable namesake is Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to Congress and the first African American and woman Democratic presidential nominee.

Pronounced CHIZ-um.

As of October 2026, Chisholm ranked #12696 in US births in 2022 SSA, peaked at #5915 in 1985.