Show ContentsPlum History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Plum

What does the name Plum mean?

The Plum surname comes from uncertain origins. Some instances of the name come from the Middle English word "plum(b)e," in turn from the Middle Low German "plum" all meaning "plum." As such, the name would have been used as a name for someone who lived by a plum tree, or for a grower or seller of plums. 1

The surname is also thought to derive from the Old French "plomb," meaning "lead;" in which case it was thought to have originally been an occupational name for a plumber. 2

Early Origins of the Plum family

The surname Plum was first found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that county.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings for the family: Richard Plumbe, Cambridgeshire; and Symon Plumbe, Huntingdonshire. 3

Early History of the Plum family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Plum research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1510, 1560, 1600, 1630, 1670, 1704, 1718, 1724 and 1769 are included under the topic Early Plum History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Plum Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Plumm, Plumme, Plum, Plume, Ploom, Ploum, Ploume and many more.

Early Notables of the Plum family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Reverend Doctor Thomas Plume, B.A., D.D. (1630-1704), an English churchman and philanthropist, founder the Plume School, in Maldon, Essex. William Plumbe, B.A. was rector of the church of St. Michael...

Plum Ranking

In the United States, the name Plum is the 13,434th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4


Plum migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Plum Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Plum, who settled in Massachusetts in 1635
  • Peter Plum, who landed in Virginia in 1666 5
  • Mary Plum, who settled in Virginia in 1669
Plum Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • George Plum, who settled in Delaware in 1712
  • John Plum, who landed in Virginia in 1714 5
  • Frans Plum, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1730 5
  • Ludwig Plum, who arrived in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1747 5
  • Frederick Plum, who landed in America in 1760-1763 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Plum Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Ad Plum, who arrived in North America in 1832-1849 5
  • E Plum, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
  • Samuel Plum, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
  • Charles M. Plum, who arrived in San Francisco in 1853

Plum migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Plum Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Elizabeth Plum, who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1825

Plum migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Plum Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Plum, (Parkes, Plumb), British Convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6

Plum migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7
Plum Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Plum, a servant sent to Barbados in 1660

Contemporary Notables of the name Plum (post 1700) +

  • Kenneth Ray "Ken" Plum (b. 1941), American politician, Member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1982-)
  • Polly Plum (1836-1885), pseudonym for Mary Ann Colclough, English-born, New Zealand feminist and social reformer
  • Nigel Plum (b. 1983), Australian Rugby League player who plays for the Penrith Panthers


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  5. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
  7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


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