2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Neigum
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Scottish place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Neigum. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neigum 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Neigum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neigum, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Neigum
The surname Neigum has its origins in the German regions of what is now modern-day Germany and Switzerland. It is believed to have emerged in the 16th century, derived from the Old German word "neigen," which means "to incline or bend." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person residing on a hillside or sloping terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Neigum can be found in the town records of Freiburg im Breisgau, a city in southwestern Germany, dating back to the late 1500s. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the Black Forest region during this time period.
In the early 17th century, a notable bearer of the Neigum name was Hans Neigum, a master woodcarver from the town of Triberg, renowned for his intricate Black Forest cuckoo clocks and carved wooden figurines. His works were highly sought after by the nobility and affluent classes of the time.
As the centuries progressed, the Neigum surname spread across various regions of Europe, with some variations in spelling emerging, such as Neigham and Neigheim. In the 1700s, records indicate a branch of the Neigum family residing in the Swiss canton of Bern, where they were involved in the local textile industry.
One of the most prominent figures associated with the Neigum name was Johann Neigum (1732-1806), a scholar and theologian from the town of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg. He authored several influential works on religious philosophy and was a respected lecturer at the University of Freiburg.
In the 19th century, the Neigum surname found its way to other parts of the world through emigration. Notable individuals include Wilhelm Neigum (1815-1892), a German-born civil engineer who helped oversee the construction of the first railway line in Brazil, connecting Rio de Janeiro to the interior regions of the country.
Another significant figure was Maria Neigum (1845-1923), a Swiss-born philanthropist and social reformer who dedicated her life to improving the living conditions of factory workers and advocating for women's rights in her adopted home of Manchester, England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neigum
Among Census respondents with the surname Neigum, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Neigum 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 Neigum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 101
- Two or more races6.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neigum
Neigum 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+20 bearers (+19.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,418 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-7 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,677 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +20 bearers (+19.2%) | Up 10,418 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 8,677 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 Neigum 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 | #135,593 | #144,270 | -6.4% |
| Count | 124 | 117 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neigum bearers went from 124 to 117 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 8,677 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #144,270.
FAQ
Neigum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neigum?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Neigum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Neigum?
Neigum ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Neigum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Neigum.
Has Neigum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neigum went from 124 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Neigum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neigum, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Neigum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neigum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Two or More Races (6.8%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Neigum (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 Neigum mean?
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Scottish place name. 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 Neigum (0.04 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 Neigum?
Find out how many people have the last name Neigum on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.