The Alam surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,932 people carried this name — #4,476 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 37,200 people counted. That is up 78% from 4,455 in 2000.

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In Argentina’s national register

At least 165 people named Alam live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 62
Mendoza 53
Córdoba 14
San Juan 14
City of Buenos Aires 12
Río Negro 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

151 people named Alam live in Switzerland.

They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 60
Geneva 33
Vaud 16
Bern 15
Basel-Stadt 6
Solothurn 5
Aargau 5
Fribourg 5

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 82 people named Alam live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Antwerp 28
Brussels-Capital 16
East Flanders 16
Liège 11
West Flanders 6
Limburg 5

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Poland’s population register

22 people named Alam have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 403 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Lesser Poland 5
Masovian 5
Lower Silesian 4
Silesian 4
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 2
Lublin 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

943 people named Alam are counted in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 614
Norway (2025) 218
Finland (2026) 111

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In Scotland’s registers today

Alam was recorded 13 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1564th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Alam in American newspapers,
1898–1916.

Newspaper page from Richmond Times-dispatch carrying the name Alam
Richmond Times-dispatch 1916-09-24
Newspaper page from Baptist Courier carrying the name Alam
Baptist Courier 1898-03-10
Newspaper page from The Crook County Monitor carrying the name Alam
The Crook County Monitor 1912-09-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 286 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Alam in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

2,810 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Alam. The most, 989, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,166
Queensland 225
Victoria 196
Western Australia 65
South Australia 55
ACT (Canberra) 49
Tasmania 44
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Alam.

Who carried it

People named Alam,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Asadollah Alam
    Asadollah Alam 1919–1978 · politician
  • Alexander Alam 1896–1983 · businessperson
  • Badre Alam Merathi 1898–1965 · ulema
  • Badre Alam Merathi 1898–1965 · ulema
  • ABM Nurul Alam 1929–1971
  • Muhammad Mahmood Alam 1935–2013 · aircraft pilot

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Alam,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States54 records

54 records of the Alam name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 39
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 6
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michel Alam

    Arrived at New York in 1855 aboard the Olivia from Havre, aged 19; farmer. From France; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Louis Alam

    Born 1908 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1945 at Syracuse, New York; driver from Oneida County, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Dilia K. Alam

    Born 1921 in San Pedro, Dominican Republic. Entered the United States at Miami in 1947. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 54 records for Alam in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Australia6 records

6 records of the Alam name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 4
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Yvette Alam

    Retired machinist of North Carlton, Victoria; died 1997.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Daad Saad Alam

    Of Newport, Victoria; died 1985.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Alam in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

France3 records

3 records of the Alam name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marius Clovis Alam

    Born 1922 in Rullac-Saint-Cirq; died 1992 in Durenque (Aveyron).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Zainy Saad Alam

    Born 1907 in Lebanon; died 2000 in Montpellier (Hérault).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Fayez Elie Alam

    Born 1961 in Lebanon; died 1993 in Switzerland.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Alam.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Alam is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Alam volume
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