2000
#2,060
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.97
Uncommon Last name
Baum
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a tree or worked with wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,280 Americans carry the last name Baum. That puts it at #2,227 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,750 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baum 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 Baum with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 18,750
Census rank
#2,227
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,941 bearers of the surname Baum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2227th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baum, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baum
The surname Baum is of German origin, derived from the German word "Baum," which means "tree." It is thought to have originated as a descriptive surname, likely referring to someone who lived near a notable tree or forest.
The earliest known recorded instances of the name Baum date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. In 1295, a Henrich Boum was mentioned in records from the town of Meiningen, in the modern-day state of Thuringia. Around the same time, a Conradus dictus Boum was recorded in the town of Schlitz, in the state of Hesse.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Baume, Bawm, and Bawme, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. The name was also sometimes associated with place names containing the word "Baum," such as Baumgarten (meaning "tree garden") or Baumbach (meaning "tree stream").
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Baum was Johann Baum, a German theologian and reformer born in Nuremberg in 1515. He played a role in the Protestant Reformation and was a contemporary of Martin Luther.
Another historical figure with the surname Baum was Johann Wilhelm Baum, a German botanist and botanographer born in 1719. He is known for his work in cataloging and describing plant species, particularly in the genus Rubus (the raspberry and blackberry family).
In the 19th century, the name Baum was borne by several notable individuals, including the German-American writer and editor Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919), best known as the author of the beloved children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Another 19th-century figure was the German politician and statesman Ludwig Bamberger (1823-1899), who served as a member of the Reichstag and played a prominent role in the unification of Germany.
In the arts, the name Baum is associated with the German expressionist painter and printmaker Sonia Delaunay-Terk (née Baum, 1885-1979), a co-founder of the Orphism art movement and a pioneering figure in abstract art.
Throughout history, the surname Baum has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, politicians, and others who have made significant contributions to their respective fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baum
Among Census respondents with the surname Baum, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Baum 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 Baum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 14,550
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 510
- Two or more races3.0% · 481
- Black or African American1.5% · 238
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baum
Baum 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
#2,230
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,334
+225 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 5.54
Rank movement Down 170 places
2020
#2,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,941
-393 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 5.33
Rank movement Up 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,060 | 16,109 | 5.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,230 | 16,334 | 5.54 | +225 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 170 places |
| 2020 | #2,227 | 15,941 | 5.33 | -393 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 3 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 Baum 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 | #2,230 | #2,227 | 0.1% |
| Count | 16,334 | 15,941 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 5.54 | 5.33 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baum bearers went from 16,334 to 15,941 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,230 to #2,227.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Baum
FAQ
Baum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baum?
Name Census estimates that about 18,280 living Americans carry the surname Baum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,750 residents.
How common is Baum?
Baum ranks #2,227 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,941 people with the surname Baum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,280), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Baum.
Has Baum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baum went from 16,334 recorded bearers to 15,941. That is a decrease of 393 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,230 to #2,227.
What does the Census say about the background of Baum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baum, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Baum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (14,550 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Baum (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 Baum mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a tree or worked with wood. 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 Baum (5.33 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 common is the surname Baum?
Want to know how many people are called Baum? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.