Trump is a surname of English and German origin: *a

German surname Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names (''Vorname'', plural ''Vornamen'') and a surname (''Nachname, Familienname''). The ''Vorname'' is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western orde ...

, possibly from a word for "drum". It is notable as the surname of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

Gwenda Blair, '' The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire'' (2000), p. 26. See also. who was

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

from 2017 to 2021. It has an older presence in the United States via the 18th-century

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

migration from the Palatinate to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. *an

English surname English names are names used in, or originating in, England. In England as elsewhere in the English-speaking world, a complete name usually consists of a given name, commonly referred to as a first name, and a (most commonly patrilineal) family ...

derived from Old French ''trompeor'' "trumpeter" or "maker of trumpets" (modern surnames Trump and

Trumper Trumper is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Notable People * Gillian Trumper (1936–2019), Canadian politician * Lutz Trümper (born 1955), German politician * Simon Trumper (born 1963), English poker player *Victor Trumper (18 ...

), recorded from the 1270s. The majority of people with the surname live in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(close to 5,000 individuals, approximately 900 of whom live in

); the surname does survive in both Germany and England, but is comparatively rare (fewer than 500 individuals in each country).

German surname

German name researcher (''Lehrbeauftragter für Namenforschung'') Hans Bahlow derived the German surname ''Trump'' from a Bavarian word for "drum" (

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

'' trumpe''). The name is on record since the early modern period, with immigration to colonial North America from the 1730s. Trump as a contemporary German surname is comparatively rare, with 382 telephone book entries as of 2016 concentrated in the

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

area, the Bad Dürkheim district, the

Gifhorn district Gifhorn () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The district is located at the border of Saxony-Anhalt and extends from the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath () in the north to the suburbs of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg in th ...

, and the

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

region. *

Georg Trump Georg Trump (10 July 1896 – 21 December 1985) was a German graphics, typeface and postage stamp designer, known for designs such as the book typeface Trump Mediaeval (1954), the slab serif City ( 1931) and the condensed, industrial Schadow. Tru ...

(1896–1985), German graphic, typeface, and postage stamp designer *

Peter Trump Peter Trump (born 3 December 1950) is a German former field hockey player who was a member of the West-German team that won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He also competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics Events J ...

(born 1950), German field hockey player * Walter Trump, German mathematician The German surname was introduced to the British colonial

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...

in 1733. Philip Thomas Trump was recorded as part of a group of Germans from the Palatinate. In the

, there were close to 4,800 individuals with the surname on record as of 2016,

still accounting for close to one fifth of their number. * Charles S. Trump (born 1960), West Virginia State Senator * Chrystelle Bond (; 1938–2020), American dancer, choreographer, and dance historian * Clifford Trump (born 1937), president of Idaho State University * Donald J. Trump, (born 1946), real estate developer, reality-TV and social media personality, 45th president of the United States from 2017–2021 *

Donald L. Trump Donald Lynn "Skip" Trump (born July 31, 1945) is an American oncologist who has been the executive director and chief executive officer of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Falls Church, Virginia, since January 2015. He has the same first and ...

(born 1945), American oncologist * Mary Lea Trump (born 1965), American clinical psychologist, author, podcaster *

William Trump William Francis Trump (November 7, 1923 – July 24, 2009) served aboard a Landing Craft Infantry vessel during four amphibious assaults, during World War II. His vessel, the USS ''LCI-90'', participated in the invasion of French No ...

(1923–2009), American soldier

English surname

The modern English surnames ''Trump'', ''Tromp'', and ''

'' are derived from occupational names referring to "

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

", either for trumpeters or trumpet-makers. Early attestations of the occupational name include references to one Patrick Trumpe in Cumbria (1275), to Adam Trumpur in Essex (also 1275), and to Nicholas Trump in Cambridgeshire (1279). One William Trompeur is recorded in London in 1320, and one John le Trumpour in Yorkshire in 1327.Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', Oxford University Press (2016)
p. 2735
One of the Monmouth rebels transported to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

in 1685 was Humphrey Trump of

Membury, Devon Membury is a village three miles north west of Axminster in East Devon district. The population at the 2011 Census was 501. The village has a 13th-century church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, with a tall slim tower. In the aisle there is a ...

. In modern English surnames ''Trump'' is localized in Southwestern England, especially

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

."Trump"
in ''Dictionary of American Family Names'', Oxford University Press (2013). "English (

): metonymic occupational name for a trumpeter, from Middle English trumpe ‘trumpet’." 429 individuals named Trump were reported for Great Britain as of 2016 (compared to 458 in 1881). * David H. Trump (1931–2016), British archaeologist known for his work in the area of Maltese prehistory * Dorothy Trump (1964–2013), English geneticist * Gerald Trump (born 1937), English cricketer * Harvey Trump (born 1968), English cricketer *

Judd Trump Judd Trump (born 20 August 1989) is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranki ...

(born 1989), English snooker player

References

{{Surname, Trump Donald Trump English-language surnames German-language surnames Occupational surnames English-language occupational surnames