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

Pham, 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 Pham surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pham in America

Pham is the 370th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pham surname appeared 84,320 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 29 people would have the surname Pham.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pham 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 Pham

The surname Pham originates from Vietnam and has its roots in the Vietnamese language. It is thought to have derived from the word "pham," which means "dynasty" or "reign" in Vietnamese. This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who had some connection to a particular dynastic rule or period in Vietnamese history.

The earliest recorded instances of the Pham surname can be traced back to the 10th century, during the Ly Dynasty of Vietnam. Records from this time period mention individuals bearing the Pham name, indicating that the surname was already in use by that point.

One notable historical figure with the Pham surname was Pham Ngu Lao, a renowned Vietnamese poet and scholar who lived in the 18th century (1712-1785). His works were highly influential in the literary circles of his time and are still studied today.

Another prominent individual bearing this name was Pham Van Dong (1906-2000), a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the Prime Minister of North Vietnam from 1955 to 1976 and as the Prime Minister of the reunified Vietnam from 1976 to 1987.

In the 13th century, there are records of a village named Pham Xa, located in what is now the Hanoi region of Vietnam. It is possible that this place name was derived from the Pham surname, suggesting that individuals with this surname may have been among the early settlers or residents of the area.

The Pham surname has also been found in historical documents from neighboring countries, such as China and Cambodia, indicating that individuals bearing this name may have migrated or established communities in these regions over the centuries.

One other notable figure with the Pham surname was Pham Duy Ton (1572-1644), a Vietnamese scholar and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of Confucian thought and ethics during the Le Dynasty.

Throughout its history, the Pham surname has maintained a strong presence in Vietnam and has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, poets, politicians, and philosophers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pham

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

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 Pham 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 Pham 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 Pham was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!