2000
#18,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,382
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.51
Rare Last name
Yam
A surname referring to a sweet potato or related tuber crop.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,159 Americans carry the last name Yam. That puts it at #15,050 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 158,756 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yam 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 Yam with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 158,756
Census rank
#15,050
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,883 bearers of the surname Yam in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15050th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yam, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and White (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yam
The surname Yam has its origins in Europe, specifically from England and parts of Eastern Europe. The name is believed to have originated around the late Middle Ages, roughly in the 13th century. It appeared in regions of England and in areas that were once part of the Kingdom of Bohemia, now in modern-day Czech Republic.
In England, the surname Yam may be derived from an old English place name or from the Middle English word "yeme," meaning to care or to protect, which could hint at an occupation such as a caretaker or a guardian. Regions particularly associated with the name in England include Norfolk and Suffolk. Variations in spelling such as Yame, Yham, and Yamme have been recorded in historical documents from these regions.
Old records, including church registers and tax rolls, reference the surname as far back as the 14th century. An early historical reference includes the appearance of one William Yam in the Subsidy Rolls of Norfolk recorded in 1327. This suggests that the name had already been established in East Anglia by this time. Manuscripts from monasteries in Suffolk also list a John de Yame in 1356, indicating the surname's presence in ecclesiastical records.
In Eastern Europe, the surname Yam may have Slavic roots, originating from the word "jam," meaning pit or hollow. This could be toponymic, referring to someone living near a geographical depression or pit. The use of the name in this context appears in historical references from 14th-century Bohemia, where a Petr Yam is mentioned in local administrative records in 1392. It appears again in the Southern Polish region in the Kraków Voivodeship in the late 15th century, with Jakub Yamek appearing in a 1489 property register.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Yam. Thomas Yam, an English wool merchant born in 1468, established significant trade routes between Norfolk and Flanders. In the realm of science, Zdenek Yam, a Bohemian scholar born in 1533, made significant contributions to early studies in natural philosophy. The name also appears in the arts with Bartholomew Yam, an English painter born in 1602, whose works are still displayed in Norfolk's local galleries.
Later, the surname appears in colonial contexts. Samuel Yam, recorded in early 17th-century Virginia, was one of the early English settlers who arrived in Jamestown in 1623. Elizabeth Yam, born in 1784, was a noteworthy English novelist whose works gained a modest readership in Victorian England.
These historical references highlight the varied origins and significance of the surname Yam across different regions and time periods, tracing a lineage rich in occupational, geographical, and cultural contributions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yam
Among Census respondents with the surname Yam, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and White (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Yam 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 Yam surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander83.1% · 1,564
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 146
- White4.6% · 87
- Two or more races3.6% · 68
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yam
Yam 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
#16,041
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,808
+426 bearers (+30.8%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Up 2,406 places
2020
#15,050
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,883
+75 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 991 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,447 | 1,382 | 0.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,041 | 1,808 | 0.61 | +426 bearers (+30.8%) | Up 2,406 places |
| 2020 | #15,050 | 1,883 | 0.63 | +75 bearers (+4.1%) | Up 991 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 Yam 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 | #16,041 | #15,050 | 6.2% |
| Count | 1,808 | 1,883 | 4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.61 | 0.63 | 3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yam bearers went from 1,808 to 1,883 (+4.1% change). The surname moved up 991 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,041 to #15,050.
FAQ
Yam surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yam?
Name Census estimates that about 2,159 living Americans carry the surname Yam. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 158,756 residents.
How common is Yam?
Yam ranks #15,050 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,883 people with the surname Yam. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,159), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Yam.
Has Yam become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yam went from 1,808 recorded bearers to 1,883. That is an increase of 75 (+4.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,041 to #15,050.
What does the Census say about the background of Yam?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yam, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and White (4.6%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Yam in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (1,564 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yam appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (83.1%), Hispanic (7.8%), White (4.6%). 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 Yam (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 Yam mean?
A surname referring to a sweet potato or related tuber crop. 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 Yam (0.63 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 are called Yam?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Yam, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.