Chum Family History
Chum Surname Meaning
Cambodian: written ជុំ corresponding to the Khmer word meaning e.g. ‘to gather’ and as a noun e.g. ‘circle’. ជុំ may also be the Khmer spelling of an unidentified Chinese surname (compare below). Compare Chhum.
Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 覃 see Tan 2 or Qin. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 詹 possibly based on its Hokkien or Taiwanese pronunciation and a variant Romanization of the surname 湛 possibly based on its Cantonese pronunciation; see Zhan 1 and Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 鄭 see Zheng.
Amerindian (Guatemala): unexplained. English: unexplained. Chum is a presently Devonian dialect adjective meaning ‘surly’ but it is unclear whether that is relevant.
This surname is rare in Britain.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
