2000
#15,071
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,796
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.67
Rare Last name
Baham
An English surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a place name or a nickname for a loud person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,076 Americans carry the last name Baham. That puts it at #15,549 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,103 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baham surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 165,103
Census rank
#15,549
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,810 bearers of the surname Baham in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15549th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baham, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.9%) and Two or More Races (7.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baham
The surname Baham has its origins in the English county of Nottinghamshire, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "bæc" and "ham," which together mean "homestead by a stream or brook." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname likely lived near a body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Baham can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire from 1189, where a Richard de Baham is listed as a landowner. This document provides valuable insight into the medieval origins of the name and its association with land ownership.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Bacheham, Bacham, and Bakham, reflecting the evolution of spelling conventions over time. These variations also indicate the potential connection to the village of Bakeham, which was located in the parish of East Retford, Nottinghamshire.
Notable individuals bearing the Baham surname include Sir John Baham, a prominent knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War. Another notable figure was William Baham, who served as the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1437.
During the 16th century, the Baham family expanded their presence beyond Nottinghamshire, with records indicating branches in neighboring counties such as Lincolnshire and Derbyshire. One prominent member of this era was Robert Baham, a wealthy merchant from Newark-on-Trent, who left a significant inheritance to his descendants in 1572.
In the 17th century, the Baham surname gained further recognition with the birth of Thomas Baham (1619-1688), a renowned scholar and theologian who served as the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. His literary works and contributions to academic discourse brought prestige to the family name.
As the centuries progressed, the Baham surname continued to be associated with various professions and notable individuals, such as Sir Edward Baham (1743-1821), a celebrated military officer who served in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baham
Among Census respondents with the surname Baham, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.9%) and Two or More Races (7.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Baham bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Baham surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.4% · 930
- Black or African American35.9% · 649
- Two or more races7.8% · 141
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baham
Baham appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,090
+294 bearers (+16.4%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 755 places
2020
#15,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,810
-280 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 1,233 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,071 | 1,796 | 0.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,316 | 2,090 | 0.71 | +294 bearers (+16.4%) | Up 755 places |
| 2020 | #15,549 | 1,810 | 0.61 | -280 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 1,233 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Baham surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,316 | #15,549 | -8.6% |
| Count | 2,090 | 1,810 | -13.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.61 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baham bearers went from 2,090 to 1,810 (-13.4% change). The surname moved down 1,233 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,316 to #15,549.
FAQ
Baham surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baham?
Name Census estimates that about 2,076 living Americans carry the surname Baham. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,103 residents.
How common is Baham?
Baham ranks #15,549 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,810 people with the surname Baham. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,076), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Baham.
Has Baham become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baham went from 2,090 recorded bearers to 1,810. That is a decrease of 280 (-13.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,316 to #15,549.
What does the Census say about the background of Baham?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baham, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.4%. The next largest groups are Black (35.9%) and Two or More Races (7.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Baham in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.4% (930 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baham appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.4%), Black (35.9%), Two or More Races (7.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Baham (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Baham mean?
An English surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a place name or a nickname for a loud person. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Baham (0.61 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Baham?
Want to know how common the surname Baham is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.