2000
#21,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.41
Rare Last name
Flamm
A surname likely derived from the German word for flame or blaze, potentially referring to an occupation involving fire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,361 Americans carry the last name Flamm. That puts it at #22,253 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 251,840 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Flamm 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
1.4K
1 in 251,840
Census rank
#22,253
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,187 bearers of the surname Flamm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22253rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Flamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Flamm
The surname Flamm originated in Germany. It is derived from the Old High German word "flam" which means "flame" or "blaze". This occupational surname was likely given to someone who worked as a blacksmith, living near a forge where flames were a constant presence.
The earliest recorded instance of the Flamm surname dates back to the 13th century in Bavaria. In 1289, a record mentions a "Conrad Flamme" from the village of Altötting. The spelling variation with an extra "e" at the end was common in those times.
In the 14th century, the Flamm name appeared in several medieval manuscripts from the region around Nuremberg. A notable example is a 1327 text referencing a "Hans Flamm", a local blacksmith. This provides evidence of the surname's occupational origins.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Flamm name was Johannes Flamm, a renowned clockmaker born in Nuremberg in 1498. He constructed intricate astronomical clocks that were highly sought after by nobility across Europe during the Renaissance period.
Another historically significant figure was Wilhelm Flamm (1647-1706), a German philosopher and theologian from Hannover. His writings on natural philosophy and metaphysics influenced the works of Gottfried Leibniz.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Flamm (1835-1915) was a prominent German architect who designed several iconic buildings in Berlin, including the Reichstag parliamentary building completed in 1894.
The Flamm surname also has a presence in other German-speaking regions. For example, Johann Flamm (1771-1834) was an Austrian composer and music teacher from Vienna who wrote several operas and instrumental works during the Classical period.
Across different eras and regions, the surname Flamm has maintained its German roots and associations with blacksmithing, craftsmanship, and other skilled professions involving fire and metalwork.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Flamm
Among Census respondents with the surname Flamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Flamm 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 Flamm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 1,117
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 32
- Two or more races1.9% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 9
- Black or African American0.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Flamm
Flamm 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
#21,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,183
+70 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 149 places
2020
#22,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,187
+4 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 313 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,791 | 1,113 | 0.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,940 | 1,183 | 0.40 | +70 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 149 places |
| 2020 | #22,253 | 1,187 | 0.40 | +4 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 313 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 Flamm 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 | #21,940 | #22,253 | -1.4% |
| Count | 1,183 | 1,187 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.40 | 0.40 | -0.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Flamm bearers went from 1,183 to 1,187 (+0.3% change). The surname moved down 313 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,940 to #22,253.
FAQ
Flamm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Flamm?
Name Census estimates that about 1,361 living Americans carry the surname Flamm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 251,840 residents.
How common is Flamm?
Flamm ranks #22,253 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.40 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 1,187 people with the surname Flamm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,361), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.40 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 Flamm.
Has Flamm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Flamm went from 1,183 recorded bearers to 1,187. That is an increase of 4 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,940 to #22,253.
What does the Census say about the background of Flamm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Flamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Flamm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (1,117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Flamm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Flamm (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 Flamm mean?
A surname likely derived from the German word for flame or blaze, potentially referring to an occupation involving fire. 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 Flamm (0.40 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 Flamm?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Flamm on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.