2000
#83,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 208
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Ulam
A surname of Polish origin indicating a person who kept bee hives or produced honey.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 266 Americans carry the last name Ulam. That puts it at #86,457 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,288,550 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ulam 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
266
1 in 1,288,550
Census rank
#86,457
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
232
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 232 bearers of the surname Ulam in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 86457th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ulam, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ulam
The surname ULAM is believed to have originated in Poland, derived from the Polish word "ulam" which means "fragment" or "piece." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a small settlement or a fragmented part of a larger community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the ULAM surname can be found in the 16th-century tax records of the city of Krakow, where a certain Jan Ulam was listed as a landowner. The name also appears in various church records and legal documents from the same period, indicating its presence in various regions of Poland.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the ULAM surname became more widespread, with families bearing this name found in various towns and villages across central and eastern Poland. Some notable individuals from this time include Tomasz Ulam, a prominent merchant from Warsaw who lived in the late 17th century, and Katarzyna Ulam, a landowner from the town of Lublin in the early 18th century.
In the 19th century, the ULAM surname gained greater prominence with the birth of Stanisław Ulam (1909-1984), a renowned Polish-American mathematician and scientist who made significant contributions to the fields of nuclear physics, computational mathematics, and the study of nonlinear processes. He was born in Lviv, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and later immigrated to the United States.
Another notable figure with the ULAM surname was Bronisław Ulam (1888-1939), a Polish writer and journalist who was active in the early 20th century. He was born in Warsaw and is best known for his literary works that explored themes of social injustice and the struggles of the working class.
In the mid-20th century, Jerzy Ulam (1917-2002), a Polish-American historian and author, made significant contributions to the study of Polish history and culture. He was born in Lviv and later emigrated to the United States, where he taught at several universities, including the University of Southern California.
While the ULAM surname has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the historical regions of central and eastern Poland, where it first emerged as a prominent family name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ulam
Among Census respondents with the surname Ulam, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Ulam 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 Ulam surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 207
- Two or more races6.9% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ulam
Ulam 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
#83,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 224
+16 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 131 places
2020
#86,457
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 232
+8 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 2,623 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #83,965 | 208 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #83,834 | 224 | 0.08 | +16 bearers (+7.7%) | Up 131 places |
| 2020 | #86,457 | 232 | 0.08 | +8 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 2,623 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 Ulam 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 | #83,834 | #86,457 | -3.1% |
| Count | 224 | 232 | 3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.08 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ulam bearers went from 224 to 232 (+3.6% change). The surname moved down 2,623 positions in the national ranking, going from #83,834 to #86,457.
FAQ
Ulam surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ulam?
Name Census estimates that about 266 living Americans carry the surname Ulam. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,288,550 residents.
How common is Ulam?
Ulam ranks #86,457 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 232 people with the surname Ulam. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (266), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Ulam.
Has Ulam become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ulam went from 224 recorded bearers to 232. That is an increase of 8 (+3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #83,834 to #86,457.
What does the Census say about the background of Ulam?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ulam, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Ulam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (207 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ulam appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Two or More Races (6.9%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Ulam (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 Ulam mean?
A surname of Polish origin indicating a person who kept bee hives or produced honey. 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 Ulam (0.08 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 Ulam?
You can see how many people have the last name Ulam on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.