How rare is the name Lam?

5,542 people in the United States have the first name Lam, about 1 in 54,499. It ranks #3,669 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

LAM

#3,669

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
5,542
About
1 in 54,499
This common or more
82.8%
Who bears it

Of the 5,542 people named Lam, 95.8% reported their origin as Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.3% as White and 1.3% as Black. 75.3% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Lam peaked in 1984, when 28 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19772025
Peak year
1984
Births that year
28
In 2025*
5 ▼82%
Recorded as
mostly male

At least 630 babies have been given the name since 1977. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Lam by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1980s, when it ranked #6,815. The largest share of babies named Lam, 42.1%, were born between 1981 and 1996, as millennials.

1970s#14,75730
1980s#6,815180
1990s#10,895130
2000s#15,338110
2010s#12,968149
2020s#22,79531
Generation X 1965–806.7%
Millennials 1981–9642.1%
Generation Z 1997–1230.3%
2013 and later21%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Either side of Lam

#3,667 Kenyatta · 5,551#3,668 Agnieszka · 5,549#3,670 Zulema · 5,541#3,671 Tri · 5,535

Spelled almost the same

4 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Lam, most common first.

#1,923 Lan · 14,674#11,725 Lama · 1,082#28,814 Laim · 310#51,177 Lami · 115

Also a last name

As a last name, Lam ranks #555 of 156,621, with 59,770 people. See Lam as a last name

Compare