Lum
A surname most often taken from a North English place-word meaning a woody valley or deep pool.
The #4,406 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,306 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is generally explained as a local name from Middle English lum, used in northern England for a woody hollow, valley, or deep pool. Bardsley and Lower both connect it with residence near such a place, and note that the final -b in forms like Lumb is probably an added sound. The word itself is traditionally linked to northern dialect vocabulary rather than a personal name.
History
This is a mainly northern English surname, and the spelling Lumb is a common expanded form. Later surname dictionaries also treat it as a place-based name rather than a nickname or occupation. In modern usage it is relatively uncommon, though it has persisted in Britain and in diaspora communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century writers already remarked that the extra -b in Lumb looks excrescent, meaning it may have been added later in spelling or pronunciation.
From the historical record
“LUM 202 LUP LUCOCK. See Luke. LUCOMBB. LUCKOMBE. A place”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom