2000
#1,216
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,392
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.78
Uncommon Last name
Hamm
Derived from the Old English "hamm," referring to someone who lived near or worked on a farm or homestead.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 29,123 Americans carry the last name Hamm. That puts it at #1,358 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,769 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hamm 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hamm with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,769
Census rank
#1,358
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,397 bearers of the surname Hamm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1358th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hamm
The surname Hamm originated in the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from the Old English word "hamm" which referred to a meadow or pasture of land in a river bend. The name likely originated as a place name and eventually became a surname for those who lived in or near a meadow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry refers to a place called "Hamme" in Somerset.
In the 12th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "de Hamme" and "atte Hamme" indicating the place of origin. The earliest known bearer of the name was William de Hamme, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191.
The name Hamm was also associated with several place names in England, including Hamm in Staffordshire, Hamme in Dorset, and Ham in Surrey. The variations in spelling were common during the Middle Ages before English orthography became standardized.
Among the notable individuals with the surname Hamm throughout history are:
1. Johann Adam Hamm (1685-1756), a German mathematician and astronomer.
2. Margret Hamm (c. 1506-1589), a German Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake for her religious beliefs.
3. Thomas Hamm (c. 1587-1654), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford.
4. John Hamm (c. 1714-1790), an English politician who served as the Mayor of Southampton in 1768.
5. Edward Hamm (1826-1888), an American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri.
The surname Hamm has been present in various parts of the world, including Germany, England, and the United States, reflecting the migration and dispersal of families over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hamm
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hamm 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 Hamm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 21,199
- Black or African American8.9% · 2,250
- Two or more races3.6% · 920
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 750
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 159
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 119
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hamm
Hamm 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
#1,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,726
+334 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 9.06
Rank movement Down 98 places
2020
#1,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,397
-1,329 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 8.50
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,216 | 26,392 | 9.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,314 | 26,726 | 9.06 | +334 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 98 places |
| 2020 | #1,358 | 25,397 | 8.50 | -1,329 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 44 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 Hamm 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 | #1,314 | #1,358 | -3.3% |
| Count | 26,726 | 25,397 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 9.06 | 8.50 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hamm bearers went from 26,726 to 25,397 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,314 to #1,358.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hamm
FAQ
Hamm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hamm?
Name Census estimates that about 29,123 living Americans carry the surname Hamm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,769 residents.
How common is Hamm?
Hamm ranks #1,358 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,397 people with the surname Hamm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (29,123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Hamm.
Has Hamm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hamm went from 26,726 recorded bearers to 25,397. That is a decrease of 1,329 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,314 to #1,358.
What does the Census say about the background of Hamm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (8.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Hamm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (21,199 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hamm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (8.9%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Hamm (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 Hamm mean?
Derived from the Old English "hamm," referring to someone who lived near or worked on a farm or homestead. 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 Hamm (8.50 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 common is the surname Hamm?
If you just want to know how common the surname Hamm is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.