Last revised
25 October 2006

This page contains various facts and figures and trivia which will be added to as time allows.

Population Growth

This graph shows the total Altham population between 1837 and 2006

The oldest Altham

There is currently a tie for the most long lived Altham (excluding those who may still be alive) all of whom reached the grand old age of 98.

Mary A Altham (1853 - 1951)
Louisa E Altham (1866 - 1964)
Dorothy LeRay Altham (1891 - 1989)
Rose Hannah Altham (1901 - 1999)
Norah Altham (1902 - 2000)

The oldest male Altham was aged 97:

John Altham (1876 - 1973)

Life Expectancy

The life expectancy of the individuals in this study increases as we get closer to the present day.  The average values for each period are

pre 1900 - 37.6 years
1900 to 1920 - 43.4 years
1920 to 1940 - 59.7 years
1940 to 1960 - 63.4 years
1960 to 1980 - 68.8 years
1980 to present - 78.2 years

Infant Mortality

The proportion of children who die in infancy or early childhood (up to two years) decreases after 1920 and then remains static at about 3% of all births until the 1980’s. The values for each period are

pre 1900 - 5.8%
1900 to 1920 - 12.3%
1920 to 1940 - 3.8%
1940 to 1960 - 2.9%
1960 to 1980 - 3.4%
1980 to present - 0.6%

Most Popular First Names

Not surprisingly, the most popular names by far have been John and Mary. The runners up are Thomas and William for boys and Elizabeth and Margaret for girls. There are approximately 200 names that have been given to a single individual, the majority of which occur since 1970.