How common is the surname Elam?

14,138 people in the United States had the surname Elam in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,838 Americans. It ranked 2,556th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Elam?

Jack Elam, American actor (1920–2003), followed by Katrina Elam.

Where is the surname Elam most common?

Wikidata records people named Elam in the United States.

Is the surname Elam getting more or less common?

More common. 13,776 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,138 in 2010, up 2.6%.

The surname Elam

A surname, carried by 14,138 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex E450

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Elam is more common than 98.4% of them.

Origin

Borrowed from Manipuri ꯑꯦꯂꯥꯝ (ʼelām).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 14,138 people named Elam in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 21,838 Americans. That is up 2.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 13,776.

#2,556

rank among US surnames

14,138

people in 2010

4.8

per 100,000 Americans

+2.6%

change since 2000 (was #2,413)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,547	Mota	14,182	21,770
#2,548	Villasenor	14,180	21,773
#2,549	Breen	14,170	21,789
#2,550	Gant	14,167	21,793
#2,551	Kong	14,165	21,796
#2,552	Way	14,157	21,809
#2,553	Kaminski	14,152	21,816

Who is named Elam

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

68% of people named Elam identified as white (not Hispanic), 27% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 68%
Black (not Hispanic) 27%
Two or more races 2.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Elams

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Jack Elam
American actor (1920–2003)
Katrina Elam
American country singer, born 1983
Guru
American rapper (1961–2010)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Elem

Surnames that sound like Elam

Elam has the Soundex code E450, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code E450.

Questions

Where does the surname Elam come from?: Borrowed from Manipuri ꯑꯦꯂꯥꯝ (ʼelām).
How common is the surname Elam?: 14,138 people in the United States had the surname Elam in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,838 Americans. It ranked 2,556th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Elam?: In the 2010 Census, 68% of people named Elam identified as white (not Hispanic), and 27% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Elam?: Jack Elam, American actor (1920–2003), followed by Katrina Elam.
Where is the surname Elam most common?: Wikidata records people named Elam in the United States.
Is the surname Elam getting more or less common?: More common. 13,776 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,138 in 2010, up 2.6%.
What are other spellings of Elam?: Elem.