How common is the surname Lum?

8,060 people in the United States had the surname Lum in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 38,306 Americans. It ranked 4,406th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Lum?

Agnes Lum, American actor, model and singer, followed by Bertha Lum.

Where is the surname Lum most common?

Wikidata records people named Lum in the United States.

Is the surname Lum getting more or less common?

Less common. 8,074 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,060 in 2010, down 0.2%.

Is Lum also a first name?

Yes. Lum is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Lum

A Chinese place surname, carried by 8,060 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex L500

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Lum is more common than 97.3% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

As an English surname, from Middle English Lumb, from Old English Lumm, from lumm (“pool”). Analyzable as being from English lum (“pool”). As a Chinese surname, from Cantonese 林 (lam4).

Lum is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,060 people named Lum in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 38,306 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 8,074.

#4,406

rank among US surnames

8,060

people in 2010

2.7

per 100,000 Americans

-0.2%

change since 2000 (was #4,042)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,397	Cromwell	8,087	38,178
#4,398	McVay	8,086	38,183
#4,399	Morel	8,085	38,187
#4,400	Mahaffey	8,079	38,216
#4,401	Criswell	8,077	38,225
#4,402	Denning	8,076	38,230
#4,403	Rey	8,074	38,239

Who is named Lum

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

62% of people named Lum identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 19% as white (not Hispanic) and 13% as two or more races.

Asian and Pacific Islander 62%
White (not Hispanic) 19%
Two or more races 13%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.1%
Black (not Hispanic) 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Lums

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Agnes Lum
American actor, model and singer, born 1956
Bertha Lum
American artist (1869-1954)
Awkwafina
American actress, comedian, and rapper, born 1988

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Lum

Luoma

Lum has the Soundex code L500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code L500.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Lum come from?: As an English surname, from Middle English Lumb, from Old English Lumm, from lumm (“pool”). Analyzable as being from English lum (“pool”). As a Chinese surname, from Cantonese 林 (lam4).
How common is the surname Lum?: 8,060 people in the United States had the surname Lum in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 38,306 Americans. It ranked 4,406th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Lum?: In the 2010 Census, 62% of people named Lum identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 19% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Lum?: Agnes Lum, American actor, model and singer, followed by Bertha Lum.
Where is the surname Lum most common?: Wikidata records people named Lum in the United States.
What type of surname is Lum?: Lum is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Lum getting more or less common?: Less common. 8,074 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,060 in 2010, down 0.2%.
Is Lum also a first name?: Yes. Lum is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.