Explore the Family Name Slama

The meaning of Slama

1. Czech (Sláma), Slovak, and Slovenian: from Czech sláma, Slovak and Slovenian slama ‘straw’, perhaps a nickname for someone with straw-colored hair. 2. Arabic (Maghreb and Egypt): variant of Salama. This surname is found among both Muslims and Christians (Copts).

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Slama in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Slama saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of this surname dropped from 17,240th in 2000 to 17,323rd in 2010, indicating a decline of 0.48%. However, the count of individuals with this surname increased by 7.87%, from 1,513 in 2000 to 1,632 in 2010. Even so, the proportion of the surname Slama per 100,000 people dipped by 1.79%, from 0.56 in 2000 to 0.55 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#17,240	#17,323	-0.48%
Count	1,513	1,632	7.87%
Proportion per 100k	0.56	0.55	-1.79%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Slama

In terms of ethnic identity, based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the majority of those bearing the surname Slama identified as White both in 2000 and 2010. Although this subgroup decreased by 2.03% over the decade, it still accounted for 93.63% of the total in 2010. Notably, there was a 49.64% increase in those identifying as Hispanic, rising from 1.39% in 2000 to 2.08% in 2010. Additionally, the census recorded individuals with the surname Slama identifying as Black and Asian/Pacific Islander for the first time in 2010. Meanwhile, there was a significant 49.32% decrease in those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native. The percentage of those reporting two or more races also declined by 18.87%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.57%	93.63%	-2.03%
Hispanic	1.39%	2.08%	49.64%
Black	0%	1.78%	0%
Two or More Races	1.59%	1.29%	-18.87%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.86%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.73%	0.37%	-49.32%