2000
#6,267
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,009
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.86
Rare Last name
Shrum
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "shrubbery" or "area overgrown with brushwood" in Middle English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,469 Americans carry the last name Shrum. That puts it at #6,804 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,672 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shrum 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
5.5K
1 in 62,672
Census rank
#6,804
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,769 bearers of the surname Shrum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6804th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shrum
The surname SHRUM has its origins in the German and Dutch languages, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle Low German word "schrum," which means "a furrow or wrinkle." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone with a wrinkled or furrowed appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SHRUM surname can be found in the Prussian census records from the early 1600s, where it appears as "Schrum." It is likely that the name spread across various regions of Germany and the Netherlands during this period.
In the 17th century, the SHRUM name can be found in various historical documents and records, such as church registers and tax rolls. One notable example is the mention of a Johann SHRUM, a farmer from the village of Niederndodeleben in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, in the year 1679.
As migration patterns spread across Europe and beyond, the SHRUM surname made its way to other parts of the world. In the late 18th century, records show a family by the name of SHRUM settling in the American colonies, with Jacob SHRUM (1745-1823) being one of the earliest documented individuals with this surname in the United States.
Another notable figure with the SHRUM surname was William Henry SHRUM (1888-1970), a Canadian physicist and university administrator who served as the president of the University of British Columbia from 1961 to 1969.
Other individuals of note bearing the SHRUM surname include:
1. John SHRUM (1727-1795), an American Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia.
2. Mary SHRUM (1856-1938), an American educator and advocate for women's rights.
3. Charles SHRUM (1879-1954), an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Davenport, Iowa.
4. Henrietta SHRUM (1902-1992), an American artist known for her landscape paintings and murals.
5. Robert SHRUM (born 1943), an American political consultant and strategist who has worked on numerous presidential campaigns.
While the SHRUM surname may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the German and Dutch regions, where it likely originated as a descriptive name for an individual's physical appearance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shrum
Among Census respondents with the surname Shrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Shrum 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 Shrum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 4,321
- Two or more races4.9% · 235
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 67
- Black or African American0.4% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shrum
Shrum 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
#6,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,146
+137 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Down 316 places
2020
#6,804
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,769
-377 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 1.60
Rank movement Down 221 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,267 | 5,009 | 1.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,583 | 5,146 | 1.74 | +137 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 316 places |
| 2020 | #6,804 | 4,769 | 1.60 | -377 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 221 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 Shrum 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 | #6,583 | #6,804 | -3.4% |
| Count | 5,146 | 4,769 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.60 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shrum bearers went from 5,146 to 4,769 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 221 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,583 to #6,804.
FAQ
Shrum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shrum?
Name Census estimates that about 5,469 living Americans carry the surname Shrum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,672 residents.
How common is Shrum?
Shrum ranks #6,804 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,769 people with the surname Shrum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,469), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Shrum.
Has Shrum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shrum went from 5,146 recorded bearers to 4,769. That is a decrease of 377 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,583 to #6,804.
What does the Census say about the background of Shrum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Shrum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (4,321 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shrum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Shrum (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 Shrum mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "shrubbery" or "area overgrown with brushwood" in Middle English. 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 Shrum (1.60 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 last name Shrum?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Shrum at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.