Given name & surname
Ham
“one who produces heat”
Ham is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “one who produces heat.”
Original Hebrewחם
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “one who produces heat.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
From the Hebrew verb hmh (חמה), “to protect or surround.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1886. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Ham appears in Genesis 9:24, Genesis 9:20-27.
- Genesis 9:24
- Genesis 9:20-27
- Genesis 14:5
From biblical name research
Ham through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 29
- 29 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1929. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 302 as a first name in 2020; 16,183 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ham’s family of names
Ham has a related form in Hamaker. Ham has a related form in Hamm. Ham has a related form in Hammou.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Hahmvariant · English
- Hammouvariant
- Hammuevariant
- Hammuvariant
- Hammvariant · English
- Hamouvariant
- Hamuevariant
- Hamuvariant
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 6
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Ham
- Ham Lin̄iPrime Minister of Vanuatu1951–2025
- Ham FisherAmerican comic strip writer and cartoonist (1900–1955)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ham, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hiram
“my brother has been exalted”
>99% boys
Agee
“fugitive”
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Alvah
“rising”
96% boys · 4% girls
Beno
“his son”
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Abe
“father of a multitude; father of nations” · “father of a multitude (of nations)”
>99% boys
Gross
“big, large”
>99% boys
Hershel
“resembling a deer”
>99% boys
Pincus
Pincus is a surname from Hebrew.
>99% boys