Find out how popular the last name Mam is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Mam.

Mam, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Mam surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mam in America

Mam is the 31285th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mam surname appeared 741 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Mam.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mam to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Mam

The surname MAM originated in Germany during the late medieval period, deriving from the Middle High German word "mame," which referred to a woman's breast or udder. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname associated with wet nursing or midwifery.

In the early 15th century, the name appeared in various German records, with spellings such as "Mamme" and "Mammen." One of the earliest documented instances is Johann Mammen, a farmer from the village of Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt, mentioned in a land deed from 1419.

During the 16th century, the name spread across Germany, with several notable figures bearing the surname. Johannes Mam (1472-1528) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Nuremberg, who worked alongside Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

In the 17th century, the name appeared in the records of the University of Heidelberg, with a student named Georg Mam enrolling in 1642. Around the same time, the variant spelling "Mahm" emerged in some regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

As Germans immigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas, the name spread further. In the late 18th century, a family with the surname Mam settled in the Austrian Empire, with Johann Mam (1752-1824) becoming a respected merchant in Vienna.

Another notable figure was Friedrich Mam (1823-1898), a German-American painter and lithographer who emigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and gained recognition for his landscape paintings depicting the American West.

The name also found its way to other parts of the world through immigration. For example, in the 19th century, a family with the surname Mam settled in Australia, with William Mam (1845-1912) becoming a successful farmer in the state of Victoria.

While the surname is still most prevalent in Germany, Austria, and other German-speaking regions, it can now be found scattered across various countries, reflecting the historical migrations and diasporas of German-speaking peoples.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mam

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Mam.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Mam was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Mam has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Mam was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mam, please contact us.

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