2000
#86,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 200
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Glaum
A Germanic surname derived from the term "Glau," meaning a bright or radiant person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 239 Americans carry the last name Glaum. That puts it at #94,341 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,434,119 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Glaum 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
239
1 in 1,434,119
Census rank
#94,341
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
208
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 208 bearers of the surname Glaum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 94341st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Glaum
The surname Glaum is of German origin, originating in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "glau," meaning "gray" or "gleaming," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone with gray hair or a bright complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Glaum can be found in the Bavarian town of Nürnberg in the 14th century. A document from 1372 mentions a certain "Hans Glaum," a merchant and landowner in the region. This suggests that the Glaum family had already established itself as a prominent lineage by that time.
In the 16th century, the Glaum name appeared in various records across Saxony, particularly in the cities of Leipzig and Dresden. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Glaum (1525-1591), a renowned scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Leipzig, and Christoph Glaum (1560-1628), a merchant and city councilor in Dresden.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Glaum family continued to spread throughout German-speaking regions, with some members migrating to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One notable individual from this era was Wilhelm Glaum (1683-1748), a Prussian military officer who fought in the War of the Spanish Succession.
In the 19th century, the name Glaum gained recognition with the birth of the German-American actress Elise Glaum (1888-1915), who starred in several silent films during the early years of Hollywood. Another prominent figure was the German philosopher and educator Wilhelm Glaum (1821-1897), who authored several works on ethics and education.
Other noteworthy individuals with the surname Glaum include the German-American artist and illustrator John Glaum (1914-1999), known for his work in the Golden Age of comic books, and the German author and journalist Ursula Glaum (1927-2006), who wrote extensively on social and political issues in post-war Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glaum
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Glaum 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 Glaum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 180
- Two or more races6.7% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Glaum
Glaum 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
#87,335
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 213
+13 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 678 places
2020
#94,341
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 208
-5 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 7,006 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #86,657 | 200 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #87,335 | 213 | 0.07 | +13 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 678 places |
| 2020 | #94,341 | 208 | 0.07 | -5 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 7,006 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 Glaum 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 | #87,335 | #94,341 | -8.0% |
| Count | 213 | 208 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.07 | -0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Glaum bearers went from 213 to 208 (-2.3% change). The surname moved down 7,006 positions in the national ranking, going from #87,335 to #94,341.
FAQ
Glaum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Glaum?
Name Census estimates that about 239 living Americans carry the surname Glaum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,434,119 residents.
How common is Glaum?
Glaum ranks #94,341 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 208 people with the surname Glaum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (239), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Glaum.
Has Glaum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Glaum went from 213 recorded bearers to 208. That is a decrease of 5 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #87,335 to #94,341.
What does the Census say about the background of Glaum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Glaum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (180 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Glaum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Two or More Races (6.7%), Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Glaum (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 Glaum mean?
A Germanic surname derived from the term "Glau," meaning a bright or radiant person. 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 Glaum (0.07 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 Americans have the surname Glaum?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.