2000
#13,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,031
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Dahm
A German occupational surname referring to a builder of dams or embankments.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,521 Americans carry the last name Dahm. That puts it at #13,289 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dahm 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
2.5K
1 in 135,960
Census rank
#13,289
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,198 bearers of the surname Dahm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13289th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahm, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dahm
The surname Dahm originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the late 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Damm," which means "dam" or "dike." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked on dams or dikes, or perhaps lived near one.
The earliest known record of the name Dahm appears in a document from the town of Augsburg in 1292, referring to a person named "Heinrich Damme." Other early spellings include "Damme," "Dammen," and "Dammens."
In the 15th century, the name Dahm can be found in various records from several regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Westphalia. This indicates that the name had spread to different parts of the country by that time.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Dahm was Johann Dahm, a German composer who lived from around 1500 to 1570. He was a member of the Saxony court chapel and composed several religious works.
Another notable Dahm was Christian Tobias Ephraim Dahm, a German theologian and author who lived from 1725 to 1807. He wrote several books on religious topics and served as a pastor in various churches in Saxony.
In the 19th century, the surname Dahm gained some prominence in the world of science and academia. Carl Gustav Dahm (1838-1904) was a German botanist and plant collector who made significant contributions to the study of South American flora. Ernst Dahm (1865-1932) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.
Furthermore, the name Dahm has been linked to various place names in Germany, such as Dahmen, a municipality in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and Dammendorf, a village in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Throughout history, several other individuals with the surname Dahm have made notable contributions in various fields, including politics, literature, and the arts, further solidifying the name's place in German heritage and cultural identity.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dahm
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahm, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Dahm 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 Dahm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 2,072
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 48
- Two or more races2.0% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dahm
Dahm 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
#14,233
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,107
+76 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 537 places
2020
#13,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,198
+91 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 944 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,696 | 2,031 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,233 | 2,107 | 0.71 | +76 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 537 places |
| 2020 | #13,289 | 2,198 | 0.74 | +91 bearers (+4.3%) | Up 944 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 Dahm 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 | #14,233 | #13,289 | 6.6% |
| Count | 2,107 | 2,198 | 4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.74 | 3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dahm bearers went from 2,107 to 2,198 (+4.3% change). The surname moved up 944 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,233 to #13,289.
FAQ
Dahm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dahm?
Name Census estimates that about 2,521 living Americans carry the surname Dahm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,960 residents.
How common is Dahm?
Dahm ranks #13,289 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,198 people with the surname Dahm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,521), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Dahm.
Has Dahm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dahm went from 2,107 recorded bearers to 2,198. That is an increase of 91 (+4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,233 to #13,289.
What does the Census say about the background of Dahm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dahm, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Dahm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (2,072 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dahm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (2.2%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Dahm (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 Dahm mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a builder of dams or embankments. 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 Dahm (0.74 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 surname Dahm?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.