Fun Facts About the Name Lam
- 630 babies named Lam: U.S. records list 630 babies given the name Lam from 1880 through 2025. Even 76 girls received the name Lam - about 1 girl for every 7 boys.
What Does the Name Lam Mean?
Lam is a Vietnamese given name meaning "forest" or "woods." It comes from the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese character 林 (Mandarin lín), which is made of two 木 (mù, "tree, wood") and depicts a stand of trees. The character is an associative compound: doubling the tree element gives the meaning "forest." In Cantonese and other southern Chinese languages, the same character is romanized as Lam; in Vietnamese it is written Lâm and often appears without the diacritic in English. As a given name, Lam is chiefly Vietnamese; as a surname, the same spelling is common in Cantonese-speaking communities. The literal sense is "forest"; it is not a metaphor or a later symbolic reading.
Lam Name History & Origins
The graph 林 is an old Chinese character. It appears in oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions as two trees, and its classical meaning is a grove or forest. In Middle Chinese, 林 is reconstructed with a pronunciation close to *lim, which helps explain the Sino-Vietnamese reading Lâm and the Cantonese reading lam4. Chinese administrative and literary influence brought this vocabulary into Vietnamese, where Lâm became established as both a surname and a masculine given name. In Cantonese-speaking regions, 林 is usually a surname; the spelling Lam in English is an import from Cantonese, while the given name Lam usually represents Vietnamese Lâm without its diacritic. Traditional surname origin stories for 林, which connect it to Shang or Zhou figures, belong to the surname Lin/Lam and do not explain the given name's meaning. The given name simply uses the common noun "forest" as a personal name. The form is unrelated to English Lamb or to the Arabic letter lām.
How Popular is the Name Lam?
Lam has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1983. Its best rank was #1,988 in 1983.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | #16,609 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #16,914 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #13,484 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #15,393 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #12,568 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #11,528 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #14,336 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2011 | #18,335 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #19,201 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #19,216 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #11,920 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #9,772 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,120 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2024 | #9,475 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #11,694 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #10,339 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #8,593 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #8,552 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2017 | #10,326 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #5,445 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2015 | #9,223 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2014 | #13,223 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #7,345 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #7,894 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #7,297 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #5,918 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2009 | #7,065 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2008 | #7,503 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #7,936 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #10,194 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #8,043 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #10,785 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2003 | #7,597 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #8,127 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #7,248 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #6,155 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1999 | #5,206 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #6,114 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #5,909 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #5,389 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #4,683 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #4,432 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #4,146 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1992 | #4,239 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1991 | #3,065 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 1990 | #5,628 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1989 | #5,026 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1988 | #3,624 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1987 | #3,645 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1986 | #2,743 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1985 | #2,652 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1984 | #2,336 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1983 | #1,988 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1982 | #2,478 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1981 | #2,633 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1980 | #3,527 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1979 | #3,465 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1978 | #3,732 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1977 | #4,415 | 8 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Lam Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Lam's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Lam's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.