The Dam surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,186 people carried this name — #10,114 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 92,600 people counted. That is up 24% from 2,570 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Dam surname
From the noun dam (“pond”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dam» (Danish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 260 people named Dam.
80 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 13 départements, most often Seine-Maritime.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
171 people named Dam have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 257 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
70 people named Dam live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 42 people named Dam 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.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 22 people named Dam 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
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
168 people named Dam is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
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).
In print
Dam in American newspapers,
1865–1884.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 2,329,285 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Dam,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Philip Dam 1823–1900 · politician -
Jacob Dam 1824–1875 · lawyer -
Henry Jackson Wells Dam 1856–1906 · playwright -
Axel Dam 1868–1936 · teacher -
Bill Dam 1885–1930 · baseball player
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 104 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Dam.
- Dallon 105 · U.S. census
- Dally 1,225 · U.S. census
- Dalmas 254 · U.S. census
- Dalmau 372 · U.S. census
- Dalon 137 · U.S. census
- Daly 31,330 · U.S. census
- Damas 1,290 · U.S. census
- Dambach 408 · U.S. census
- Dambreville 154 · U.S. census
- Dame 3,647 · U.S. census
- Damen 210 · U.S. census
- Dameron 3,917 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Dam 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.