2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Daume
A surname possibly derived from a German word meaning valley or ravine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Daume. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Daume 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Daume in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Daume, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Daume
The surname DAUME is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century in the region of Bavaria. It is derived from the Middle High German word "toum," which means "dizziness" or "stupor." This suggests that the name may have initially been a nickname referring to someone who was prone to dizziness or had a tendency to act in a confused or disoriented manner.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the DAUME surname appears in a document from the town of Augsburg, dated 1387, which mentions a certain "Hans Daume." This indicates that the name had already become established as a family name by the late medieval period.
In the 16th century, the DAUME name can be found in various church records and municipal documents from towns and villages across Bavaria, such as Regensburg, Nuremberg, and Munich. This suggests that the name had spread throughout the region during this time.
A notable figure with the DAUME surname was Johann Christoph Daume (1668-1743), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Duke of Saxe-Eisenach. His compositions, particularly his sacred works, were highly regarded during his lifetime.
Another individual of historical significance was Georg Daume (1670-1738), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Leipzig. He was known for his writings on ethics and natural law.
In the 18th century, the DAUME name appears to have spread beyond the borders of Germany. For example, a Johann Daume (1732-1796) is recorded as having been a merchant and landowner in the Dutch colonial settlement of Cape Town, South Africa.
Later, in the 19th century, a Carl Daume (1821-1892) was a prominent German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichsbank (Imperial Bank) and the Bourse (Stock Exchange).
Throughout its history, the DAUME surname has also been subject to various spelling variations, such as Daum, Daumen, and Daumé, reflecting regional linguistic differences and changes in orthography over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daume
Among Census respondents with the surname Daume, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Daume 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 Daume surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Daume
Daume 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
#120,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 144
+19 bearers (+15.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 6,213 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-23 bearers (-16.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,122 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #120,187 | 144 | 0.05 | +19 bearers (+15.2%) | Up 6,213 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -23 bearers (-16.0%) | Down 21,122 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 Daume 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 | #120,187 | #141,309 | -17.6% |
| Count | 144 | 121 | -16.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Daume bearers went from 144 to 121 (-16.0% change). The surname moved down 21,122 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,187 to #141,309.
FAQ
Daume surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Daume?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Daume. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Daume?
Daume ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Daume. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Daume.
Has Daume become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Daume went from 144 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 23 (-16.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #120,187 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Daume?
Among Census respondents with the surname Daume, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Daume in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Daume appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Daume (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 Daume mean?
A surname possibly derived from a German word meaning valley or ravine. 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 Daume (0.04 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 Daume?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.