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

Undem, 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 Undem surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Undem in America

Undem is the 89069th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Undem surname appeared 208 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Undem.

We can also compare 2010 data for Undem 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 Undem

The surname Undem has its origins in the Germanic regions of central Europe, likely emerging in the early Middle Ages around the 8th or 9th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "undem," which referred to a low-lying or swampy area of land. This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a locative surname, indicating that the original bearers lived near or in such a marshy region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Wizenburgensium, a medieval cartulary from the Weissenburg Abbey in Alsace, France, which dates back to the 9th century. In this document, a landowner named Undemo is mentioned as having donated property to the abbey. While the spelling varies slightly, this is likely an early form of the modern Undem surname.

During the High Middle Ages, the name appears to have spread across various parts of the Holy Roman Empire, including present-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In the late 13th century, a knight named Siboto Undem is recorded as having participated in a tournament in Nuremberg, Germany. Around the same time, a merchant named Hans Undem is mentioned in records from the city of Basel, Switzerland.

In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Johannes Undem, a German theologian and professor at the University of Heidelberg. He was born in 1420 and is known for his contributions to the study of canon law and his writings on various theological topics.

Another noteworthy individual was Caspar Undem, a 16th-century German artist and engraver who was active in Nuremberg. He was born around 1510 and is particularly renowned for his intricate woodcut illustrations and engravings, which often depicted religious scenes and mythological subjects.

Moving into the 17th century, a prominent bearer of the Undem name was Georg Undem, a German composer and organist who lived from 1620 to 1692. He worked in various churches and courts across Germany and is remembered for his contributions to the development of the German organ school and his compositions for organ and other instruments.

While the surname Undem is relatively uncommon today, it has a long and interesting history that can be traced back to the early medieval period in central Europe. Its origins are rooted in the Germanic language and reflect the geographical features of the areas where the name first emerged.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Undem

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Undem, 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!