2000
#5,079
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,338
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.35
Rare Last name
Yocum
Derived from a place name meaning "oakum," referring to a village in Berkshire, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,025 Americans carry the last name Yocum. That puts it at #5,480 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,791 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yocum 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
7.0K
1 in 48,791
Census rank
#5,480
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,126 bearers of the surname Yocum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5480th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yocum, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yocum
The surname Yocum is believed to have originated in Germany, where it was derived from the Germanic personal name "Jocham" or "Joachim." This name ultimately traces its roots back to the Hebrew name "Yehoayachin," meaning "Yahweh establishes."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Yocum name can be found in the records of the Palatinate region of Germany, where a Hans Jocham was documented in the town of Zweibrücken in 1562. The name appears to have been concentrated in this area during the 16th and 17th centuries.
As the Germanic spelling of the name evolved over time, variations such as Jochem, Jochum, and Yochem emerged. These were likely influenced by regional dialects and scribal interpretations.
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, many German immigrants bearing the Yocum surname began arriving in Pennsylvania and other parts of Colonial America. One notable early arrival was Hans Peter Yocum, who was born in 1709 in the village of Kirchheimbolanden and immigrated to Philadelphia in 1738.
Another significant figure in the early history of the Yocum name was Johann Michael Yocum, born in 1726 in the Palatinate region. He and his family were among the first Yocums to settle in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in the mid-18th century.
Other notable individuals with the Yocum surname include:
1. William H. Yocum (1834-1925), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who later served as a U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania.
2. Wilbur G. Yocum (1846-1925), a businessman and politician who served as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska.
3. Alice Yocum Hare (1874-1942), an American painter and illustrator known for her works depicting Native American subjects.
4. Charles R. Yocum (1891-1969), a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Pennsylvania, including the Allentown Art Museum.
5. Robert E. Yocum (1904-1968), a World War II veteran and businessman who co-founded the Yocum Oil Company in Oklahoma.
While the Yocum name has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with concentrations found in the United States, Canada, and other countries with significant German immigrant populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yocum
Among Census respondents with the surname Yocum, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Yocum 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 Yocum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 5,430
- Two or more races3.8% · 233
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 201
- Black or African American3.0% · 182
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 35
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yocum
Yocum 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
#5,353
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,504
+166 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 2.20
Rank movement Down 274 places
2020
#5,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,126
-378 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 2.05
Rank movement Down 127 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,079 | 6,338 | 2.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,353 | 6,504 | 2.20 | +166 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 274 places |
| 2020 | #5,480 | 6,126 | 2.05 | -378 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 127 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 Yocum 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 | #5,353 | #5,480 | -2.4% |
| Count | 6,504 | 6,126 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.20 | 2.05 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yocum bearers went from 6,504 to 6,126 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 127 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,353 to #5,480.
FAQ
Yocum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yocum?
Name Census estimates that about 7,025 living Americans carry the surname Yocum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,791 residents.
How common is Yocum?
Yocum ranks #5,480 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.05 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 6,126 people with the surname Yocum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,025), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.05 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 Yocum.
Has Yocum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yocum went from 6,504 recorded bearers to 6,126. That is a decrease of 378 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,353 to #5,480.
What does the Census say about the background of Yocum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yocum, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) 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 Yocum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (5,430 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yocum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), 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 Yocum (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 Yocum mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "oakum," referring to a village in Berkshire, England. 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 Yocum (2.05 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 Yocum?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Yocum? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.