Family name origins & meanings
- German : topographic name for someone who lived by a tree that was particularly noticeable in some way, from Middle High German, Old High German boum ‘tree’, or else a nickname for a particularly tall person.
- Jewish (Ashkenazic) : ornamental name from German Baum ‘tree’, or a short form of any of the many ornamental surnames containing this word as the final element, for example Feigenbaum ‘fig tree’ (see Feige) and Mandelbaum ‘almond tree’ (see Mandel).
- English : probably a variant spelling of Balm, a metonymic occupational name for a seller of spices and perfumes, Middle English, Old French basme, balme, ba(u)me ‘balm’, ‘ointment’ (see Balmer).