The Lum surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,060 people carried this name — #4,406 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,600 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (8,074).

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What the name means

The meaning of the Lum surname

An English surname transferred from the place name.

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).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Lum» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Poland’s population register

121 people named Lum have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 137 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 Greater Poland.

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

Where they live today

Greater Poland 61
Kuyavian-Pomeranian 29
Opole 18
West Pomeranian 7
Pomeranian 4
Lesser Poland 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 first U.S. census, 1790

18 families named Lum, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 108 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Connecticut 8
New York 4
Maryland 2
Massachusetts 1
Pennsylvania 1
Virginia 1
North Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 251 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Lum in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

11,172 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Lum. The most, 2,952, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 4,769
New South Wales 2,546
Queensland 1,658
South Australia 1,556
Tasmania 298
Western Australia 273
ACT (Canberra) 49
Northern Territory 9

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

Who carried it

People named Lum,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Leon E. Lum 1859–1926 · politician
  • Bertha Lum 1869–1954 · painter
  • Jim Lum 1930–2024 · community leader
  • Charles Lum 1958–2021 · actor

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Lum,
in the records of 5 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 States1,097 records

1,097 records of the Lum name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 505
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 283
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 124
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 114
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 33
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 19
  • Sacramento County historic burials 12
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Kun Lum

    Born 1905 in California. Enlisted 1941 at New York City; laundry worker from New York County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1982, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record David Anthony Lum

    Born 1940; from Honolulu, Hawaii. U.S. Air Force; died in an accident 1966 in Offshore, South Vietnam. Buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Magdalena Lum

    Arrived at New York in 1857 aboard the William Nelson from Havre, aged 34; farmer. From Wurtemberg, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,097 records for Lum 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) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada162 records

162 records of the Lum name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 145
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 11
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 6
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Keu Yet Lum

    Buried in 1970 at Chinese Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 81.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Walter Shing Lum

    Died 1996, aged 69; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Yew Hum Lum

    Died 1997; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 162 records for Lum in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Australia43 records

43 records of the Lum name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 19
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 16
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robert Lum

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Barrackpore, aged 11; English.

    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 Marn Wai Lum

    Businessman of Narre Warren, Victoria; died 1998.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Allan Mortimer Lum

    Born 1920 in Southport, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 43 records for Lum in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands8 records

8 records of the Lum name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Chan Lum

    Died 1925 in Rotterdam, aged 38.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Willem Lum

    Married in 1631 in Groningen.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Marija Lum

    Buried in 1726 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Lum in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Lum name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Richard Lum

    Died 1991, aged 73; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ah Lum

    Died 1905, aged 60; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Yum Lum

    Died 1927, aged 46; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Lum.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Lum 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 Lum volume
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