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

Plum, 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 Plum surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Plum in America

Plum is the 11362nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Plum surname appeared 2,777 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Plum.

We can also compare 2010 data for Plum 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 Plum

The surname Plum has its origins in England, where it first emerged in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "plume," which referred to the fruit of the plum tree. This name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived near a plum tree or orchard, or perhaps someone who sold or traded in plums.

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "de la Plume" or "atte Plume" in medieval records, indicating a connection to a specific place or location associated with plum trees. The name was also sometimes spelled as "Plomer" or "Plummer" in various regions of England during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John atte Plume, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. Another early record is that of William de la Plume, who was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279.

The Plum surname is also found in some of the earliest English census records, such as the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1332, where a John Plum was recorded in Sussex. In the 16th century, the name appeared in various spellings, including Plume, Plomme, and Plommer, in records from counties like Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Plum surname. One example is Sir Walter Plum (c. 1590-1661), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire during the English Civil War. Another noteworthy figure was Thomas Plum (c. 1630-1704), an English-born Quaker who emigrated to America and became a prominent landowner and merchant in New Jersey.

Other individuals with the Plum surname include John Plum (1751-1842), an English clergyman and author of various theological works, and Henry Plum (1822-1893), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London and other parts of England during the Victorian era.

Additionally, the surname Plum has been associated with various place names in England, such as Plumpton in Sussex and Plumtree in Nottinghamshire, further reinforcing its connection to the fruit or the places where plum trees were abundant.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Plum

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

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

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

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