2000
#5,278
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,065
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.25
Rare Last name
Lamm
A German and Jewish surname derived from the Middle High German word "lamp," meaning "lamb."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,783 Americans carry the last name Lamm. That puts it at #5,648 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,531 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lamm 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
6.8K
1 in 50,531
Census rank
#5,648
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,915 bearers of the surname Lamm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5648th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lamm
The surname LAMM is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "lam" meaning "lamb". It emerged in the late 12th century as a descriptive nickname referring to someone with lamb-like qualities or perhaps someone who tended to sheep and lambs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Würzburg census of 1285, which lists a "Heinricus Lamme". The Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburg, a collection of historical documents from the region of Brandenburg, also mentions a "Conradus Lam" in 1375.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name was particularly prevalent in the southern regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Swabia. The variations "Lamme" and "Lämmlein" were also common during this period.
In the 16th century, the surname began to appear in other parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like Switzerland and Austria. One notable bearer was Johann Lamm, a German theologian and reformer born in 1508 in Spalt, Bavaria.
The Lamm family can trace its roots back to the village of Lamm, located in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria. This place name, which dates back to the 13th century, likely contributed to the spread of the surname in the region.
Other notable individuals with the surname LAMM include:
1. Martin Lamm (1619-1672), a German Baroque composer and organist.
2. Johann Friedrich Lamm (1766-1828), a German architect and urban planner.
3. Franz Lamm (1799-1867), an Austrian painter and lithographer.
4. David Lamm (1850-1924), a German-American businessman and philanthropist.
5. Hans Lamm (1913-1985), a Swedish author and playwright.
The surname LAMM has a rich history rooted in the medieval German society, where it emerged as a descriptive nickname before spreading across the region and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lamm
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Lamm 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 Lamm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 5,379
- Two or more races3.6% · 214
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 188
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 60
- Black or African American1.0% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lamm
Lamm 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
#5,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,105
+40 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 2.07
Rank movement Down 402 places
2020
#5,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,915
-190 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 1.98
Rank movement Up 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,278 | 6,065 | 2.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,680 | 6,105 | 2.07 | +40 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 402 places |
| 2020 | #5,648 | 5,915 | 1.98 | -190 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 32 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 Lamm 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 | #5,680 | #5,648 | 0.6% |
| Count | 6,105 | 5,915 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.07 | 1.98 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lamm bearers went from 6,105 to 5,915 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,680 to #5,648.
FAQ
Lamm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lamm?
Name Census estimates that about 6,783 living Americans carry the surname Lamm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,531 residents.
How common is Lamm?
Lamm ranks #5,648 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,915 people with the surname Lamm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,783), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Lamm.
Has Lamm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lamm went from 6,105 recorded bearers to 5,915. That is a decrease of 190 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,680 to #5,648.
What does the Census say about the background of Lamm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamm, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Lamm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (5,379 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lamm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Lamm (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 Lamm mean?
A German and Jewish surname derived from the Middle High German word "lamp," meaning "lamb." 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 Lamm (1.98 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 Lamm?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Lamm at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.