Find out how popular the last name Alderman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Alderman.

Alderman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Alderman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alderman in America

Alderman is the 3528th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alderman surname appeared 10,119 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Alderman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alderman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Alderman

The surname Alderman is of Anglo-Saxon origin, traced back to the English counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It is derived from the Old English words 'ealdor' meaning elder or chief and 'mann' meaning man, thus referring to a prominent or respected individual in a community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alderman can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Aldremannus' in Kent. This suggests the surname was already in use during the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century.

In the 13th century, the surname was recorded as 'Aldermannus' in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1230. The variant spelling 'Alderman' appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273, indicating its widespread use across northern England.

One notable early bearer of the name was John Alderman, a member of the Worshipful Company of Brewers in London, who lived around 1450-1520. Another was William Alderman, a prominent merchant and alderman of the City of London, born in 1555.

During the 16th century, the surname Alderman was found in various parts of England, such as Dorset, where Thomas Alderman was recorded in the Parish Registers of Bere Regis in 1563. In the same century, the variant spelling 'Aldaman' appeared in Cambridgeshire in 1584.

In the 17th century, the name gained prominence with individuals like Sir Ralph Alderman (1577-1658), a wealthy London merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1652. Another notable figure was Captain John Alderman (1632-1703), an English sea captain and pirate hunter who served under Sir Henry Morgan.

Other notable bearers of the surname include Sir Benjamin Alderman (1734-1810), a British naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, and Sir Edward Hall Alderson (1787-1857), an English lawyer and Baron of the Exchequer.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alderman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Alderman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Alderman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Alderman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Alderman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Alderman, please contact us.

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