2000
#10,751
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,724
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Plum
An English occupational surname referring to a plum grower, seller, or someone living near a plum tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,025 Americans carry the last name Plum. That puts it at #11,425 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Plum 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Plum with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,307
Census rank
#11,425
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,638 bearers of the surname Plum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11425th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Plum, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Plum
Among Census respondents with the surname Plum, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Plum 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 Plum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 2,367
- Two or more races3.4% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 88
- Black or African American2.4% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Plum
Plum 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
#11,362
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,777
+53 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 611 places
2020
#11,425
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,638
-139 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 63 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,751 | 2,724 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,362 | 2,777 | 0.94 | +53 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 611 places |
| 2020 | #11,425 | 2,638 | 0.88 | -139 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 63 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 Plum 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 | #11,362 | #11,425 | -0.6% |
| Count | 2,777 | 2,638 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.88 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Plum bearers went from 2,777 to 2,638 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 63 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,362 to #11,425.
FAQ
Plum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Plum?
Name Census estimates that about 3,025 living Americans carry the surname Plum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,307 residents.
How common is Plum?
Plum ranks #11,425 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,638 people with the surname Plum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,025), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Plum.
Has Plum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Plum went from 2,777 recorded bearers to 2,638. That is a decrease of 139 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,362 to #11,425.
What does the Census say about the background of Plum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Plum, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Plum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (2,367 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Plum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Plum (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 Plum mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a plum grower, seller, or someone living near a plum tree. 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 Plum (0.88 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 many people have the surname Plum?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.