2000
#5,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,568
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.06
Rare Last name
Byrum
English toponymic surname derived from any of several places named Byram, meaning "byres" or "cattle sheds" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,043 Americans carry the last name Byrum. That puts it at #6,225 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,719 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Byrum 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
6.0K
1 in 56,719
Census rank
#6,225
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,270 bearers of the surname Byrum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6225th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Byrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Byrum
The surname Byrum has its origins in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from a Middle English locational surname, referring to someone who hailed from a place called "Byram" or a similar-sounding place name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Byrum name appears in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1301, where a certain Richard de Byrum is mentioned. This suggests that the name may have originated in or near Yorkshire, potentially in a place called Byram or a variation thereof.
During the 14th century, the name appeared in various forms, including Byrom, Byram, and Birom, reflecting the fluid nature of spelling conventions at the time. In 1379, a John de Byrom is recorded in the Poll Tax Returns for Yorkshire.
The Byrum surname may also be linked to the village of Byram in West Yorkshire, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Burun." This place name is thought to have derived from Old English words meaning "by the ram pasture" or "dwelling by the boundary ram pasture."
Notable individuals bearing the Byrum surname throughout history include:
1. John Byrom (1692-1763), an English poet and inventor of a system of shorthand writing.
2. William Byrum (1780-1860), an English engraver and painter known for his landscapes and architectural works.
3. Elizabeth Byrum (1810-1893), an American pioneer and teacher who established schools in the Oregon Territory.
4. Arthur Byrum (1858-1932), a British architect responsible for the design of several notable buildings in London.
5. George Byrum (1884-1961), an American baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox in the early 20th century.
These examples illustrate the wide-ranging presence of the Byrum surname across different fields and time periods, from literature and art to education and sports.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Byrum
Among Census respondents with the surname Byrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Byrum 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 Byrum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 4,614
- Two or more races4.6% · 243
- Black or African American3.4% · 181
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 166
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Byrum
Byrum 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
#6,084
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,637
+69 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.91
Rank movement Down 376 places
2020
#6,225
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,270
-367 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.76
Rank movement Down 141 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,708 | 5,568 | 2.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,084 | 5,637 | 1.91 | +69 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 376 places |
| 2020 | #6,225 | 5,270 | 1.76 | -367 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 141 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 Byrum 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 | #6,084 | #6,225 | -2.3% |
| Count | 5,637 | 5,270 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.91 | 1.76 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Byrum bearers went from 5,637 to 5,270 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 141 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,084 to #6,225.
FAQ
Byrum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Byrum?
Name Census estimates that about 6,043 living Americans carry the surname Byrum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,719 residents.
How common is Byrum?
Byrum ranks #6,225 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,270 people with the surname Byrum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,043), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Byrum.
Has Byrum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Byrum went from 5,637 recorded bearers to 5,270. That is a decrease of 367 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,084 to #6,225.
What does the Census say about the background of Byrum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Byrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Byrum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (4,614 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Byrum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Black (3.4%). 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 Byrum (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 Byrum mean?
English toponymic surname derived from any of several places named Byram, meaning "byres" or "cattle sheds" in Old English. 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 Byrum (1.76 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 Byrum?
Find out how many people have the surname Byrum on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.