Jerman
A masculine name with Persian origins, meaning "cultivated land" or "fertile".
Name Census estimates that about 436 living Americans carry the first name Jerman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jerman today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jerman births was 1993 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jerman. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
436
~ 1 in 786,134 Americans
Peak year
1993
20 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,496
Tracked since 1972
Census
Jerman in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 545 people with the first name Jerman, which placed it at #19,414 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,414
National first-name rank
People counted
545
545 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
72.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jerman
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerman is Hispanic at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and White (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jerman described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jerman at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino72.5% · 395
- Black or African American20.9% · 114
- White4.8% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 7
- Two or more races0.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Jerman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jerman from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 130 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jerman by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jerman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jermans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jerman
The name Jerman is believed to have its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically in Old High German. It is derived from the root word "gēr," which means "spear" or "javelin," and "man," meaning "man" or "person." Together, the name "Jerman" can be interpreted as "spearman" or "man with a spear," suggesting a connection to warriors or soldiers in ancient Germanic cultures.
During the medieval period, the name Jerman was relatively common among Germanic tribes and kingdoms, particularly in modern-day Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland. It was often associated with individuals who were skilled in combat or served as soldiers or warriors.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Jerman can be found in the Nibelungenlied, a medieval German epic poem dating back to the 13th century. In the poem, Jerman is the name of a warrior who fought alongside the legendary hero Siegfried.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jerman. One of the earliest was Jerman of Reichenau (c. 950-1008), a Benedictine monk and scholar from the monastery of Reichenau in present-day Germany. He was renowned for his contributions to the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and music theory.
Another historical figure with the name Jerman was Jerman Putto (1475-1546), a German painter and engraver from Nuremberg. He was a prominent member of the Danube School and is known for his intricate woodcuts and engravings depicting religious and mythological scenes.
In the 16th century, Jerman Besler (1567-1629) was a German botanist and horticulturist who produced one of the most influential botanical works of his time, the "Hortus Eystettensis," a richly illustrated catalog of plants from the gardens of the Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt.
During the 18th century, Jerman Haupt (1701-1765) was a German theologian and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of biblical exegesis and hermeneutics. His works influenced the development of modern biblical interpretation.
In more recent times, Jerman Rudolf (1927-2020) was a Swiss composer and conductor who gained international recognition for his orchestral and chamber works, as well as his operas and ballets. He was widely regarded as one of the most important Swiss composers of the 20th century.
People
Jerman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jerman as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jerman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jerman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 436 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jerman going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 786,134 US residents.
Is Jerman a common name?
We classify Jerman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 451 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jerman most popular?
The single biggest year for Jerman was 1993, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jerman is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jerman in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 545 people with the name Jerman, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,414 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jerman in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jerman?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jerman leans strongly male. 539 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 6 female bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jerman?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerman is Hispanic at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.9%) and White (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jerman most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jerman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (395 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jerman in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jerman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jerman in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jerman still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jerman in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jerman can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Jerman?
Find out how many Americans are named Jerman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.