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Home › Baby Names Directory › Bascom

Bascom

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Bascom

Pronounced BAS-kum /ˈbæs.kəm/High

Meaning: Bascom is a transferred English surname, from Bascombe or Boscombe, a place name understood as 'valley (coombe) where box trees grow'. Like many English surnames, it moved into American use as a first name, especially in the South, in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Medium

In 30 seconds: Bascom is an English surname-name from a place meaning 'valley of the box tree'. It reads as a distinctive, early-century Southern vintage choice.
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Origin MediumEnglish
MeaningBascom is a transferred English surname, from Bascombe or Boscombe, a place name understood as 'valley (coombe) where box trees grow'. Like many English surnames, it moved into American use as a first name, especially in the South, in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
U.S. rank (1970)#4275 ↘ Falling
1970 U.S. births6 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1916
Total births (all-time)≈ 731

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 191618821970

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Bascom comes from the surname Bascombe/Boscombe, a place name combining a word for the box tree with '-combe' ('valley'). Transferred to first-name use in the American surname-name tradition, it had a modest run, particularly in Southern families, around the turn of the twentieth century.

It was always uncommon, cresting around 1916 with only a couple dozen boys a year and fading by the 1970s. A man named Bascom then is now of a great-grandparent generation; the name reads as a strong, slightly bookish antique surname-name rather than a fashion piece.

Did you know? The '-combe' in Bascombe is an old English word for a small valley - so the name pictures a wooded coombe where box shrubs grew.
Overall data confidence 60%
References - Bascombe surname — Place name 'box-tree valley'

Variations

BascombBascombeBoscombe

Nicknames

BasBass

Famous Bearers

  • ★Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882–1973)
    American folk musician and collector of Appalachian songs, known as the 'Minstrel of the Appalachians'.

If you like Bascom…

Mercer— another occupational-style vintage surname-name
Dawson— a surname-name of similar early-century feel
Weston— a place-based surname used as a first name
Carson— a sturdy transferred surname of the era

Explore names like Bascom

By themeenglishvintagesurname-name

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Bascom mean?

Bascom is an English surname-name from a place meaning 'valley of the box tree'.

How do you pronounce Bascom?

It's said BAS-kum /ˈbæs.kəm/, two syllables.

Is Bascom a boy or girl name?

Bascom is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Bascom?

Bascom has always been uncommon, an early-century Southern surname-name.

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