Drumm
A surname most likely derived from the Scottish/Irish place-name element meaning “ridge” or “hill crest,” though the exact family line is not certain.
The #8,453 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,003 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Drumm is probably connected to Gaelic place-name forms based on drom/druim, meaning a ridge, hill, or backbone-shaped rise in the land. In surname use, it most likely began as a locational name for someone from a place called Drum or Drumm, or from a landscape feature of that kind. The historical sources also show it alongside related forms such as Drum, Dromey, and Drummond, suggesting a family of names built on the same Celtic root.
History
The surname appears in Irish and Scottish naming traditions, where many surnames grew from local place-names or topographical features. In the historical materials provided, it is listed among Irish surname forms in Woulfe and recorded by Matheson, but those excerpts do not spell out a full derivation. In modern usage, Drumm is relatively uncommon and is found in both Ireland and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Gaelic root behind Drumm also appears in many Irish and Scottish place-names beginning with Drum- or Drom-.
From the historical record
“0 X)tiomA, Dromey, Drummy, Drum, Drumm ; Drummond. 6 "DiAomAin, Droman. 0 "OiioriA, Droney. 0 X)|itiACAni, Droohan, Drohane, Drohan.”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames