Find out how popular the last name Bump is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bump.

Bump, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bump surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bump in America

Bump is the 11595th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bump surname appeared 2,708 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bump.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bump to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bump

The surname Bump is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "bunce," which means a lump or protuberance. This word likely referred to a physical characteristic of the original bearer, perhaps indicating a person with a distinctive bump, hunch, or rounded shape.

The earliest known record of the surname Bump dates back to the late 12th century, with a reference to one William Bunce in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1195. Over time, the spelling evolved from Bunce to Bump, reflecting the regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.

By the 13th century, the surname Bump had spread across various regions of England, with mentions in historical records such as the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire (1273) and the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire (1275). These entries suggest that the name was well-established in different parts of the country.

One notable historical figure bearing the surname Bump was Sir John Bump, a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Warwickshire in the late 15th century (born around 1445, died in 1501). His family's coat of arms featured a distinctive hump or mound, potentially reinforcing the connection between the name and its original meaning.

In the 16th century, the name Bump appeared in several parish records and tax rolls, indicating its continued use among English families. One such example is Thomas Bump, a yeoman farmer from Gloucestershire, recorded in the Muster Rolls of 1542.

The 17th century saw the surname Bump spread to other parts of the British Isles, with instances documented in Scottish and Irish records. One notable bearer was Robert Bump, a Scottish merchant and shipowner from Aberdeen, who lived from 1620 to 1687.

As the British Empire expanded, the surname Bump was carried to various colonial outposts and settlements around the world. In the 18th century, records show instances of the name in North America, with individuals like Jonathan Bump, a farmer from Massachusetts (1725-1804), and William Bump, a soldier in the American Revolutionary War (born in 1755).

Throughout the 19th century, the surname Bump continued to be prevalent in England and its colonies, with individuals like Sir George Bump, a prominent British industrialist and philanthropist (1810-1892), and Emily Bump, an American educator and women's rights activist (1831-1915).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bump

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bump.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bump was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bump has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bump was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bump, please contact us.

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