2000
#7,694
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,988
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Alleman
A toponymic surname indicating one who came from Germany or a German-speaking region, derived from French "allemand".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,452 Americans carry the last name Alleman. That puts it at #8,164 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,989 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alleman surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,989
Census rank
#8,164
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,882 bearers of the surname Alleman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8164th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alleman
The surname ALLEMAN originated in Germany and the Netherlands in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Germanic word "alli" meaning "other" or "foreign", and "man" meaning "man". The name likely referred to someone who was a foreigner or from another region.
In early records, the name was spelled various ways such as Alleman, Allemann, Aleman, and Allemannus. It appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae in 1192, a collection of early Saxon records. The name was also found in the Liber Censuum, a 13th century tax record from the Archdiocese of Cologne.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Johannes Alleman, a scholar and clergyman from Aachen, Germany, who lived from 1190 to 1262. Another early bearer was Hildegard Alleman, a nun and writer from the Rhineland region, who lived from 1220 to 1281.
In the 14th century, the name was found in the Polyptyque de Remi, a land survey from the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims, France, indicating the surname had spread to that region. Gottfried Alleman, a merchant and burgher from Basel, Switzerland, was recorded in 1362.
During the 15th century, the surname appeared in England. John Alleman, a clergyman from Yorkshire, was mentioned in the Rotuli Parliamentorum in 1439. In the 16th century, Hans Alleman, a printer and publisher from Nuremberg, Germany, was active from 1520 to 1589.
Other notable individuals with this surname include Heinrich Alleman (1582-1629), a German composer and organist, and Jan Alleman (1670-1725), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscapes and seascapes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alleman
Among Census respondents with the surname Alleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Alleman bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Alleman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 3,548
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 172
- Two or more races2.8% · 108
- Black or African American0.6% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alleman
Alleman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,690
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,318
+330 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Up 4 places
2020
#8,164
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,882
-436 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 474 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,694 | 3,988 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,690 | 4,318 | 1.46 | +330 bearers (+8.3%) | Up 4 places |
| 2020 | #8,164 | 3,882 | 1.30 | -436 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 474 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Alleman surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,690 | #8,164 | -6.2% |
| Count | 4,318 | 3,882 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.30 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alleman bearers went from 4,318 to 3,882 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 474 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,690 to #8,164.
FAQ
Alleman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alleman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,452 living Americans carry the surname Alleman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,989 residents.
How common is Alleman?
Alleman ranks #8,164 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,882 people with the surname Alleman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,452), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Alleman.
Has Alleman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alleman went from 4,318 recorded bearers to 3,882. That is a decrease of 436 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,690 to #8,164.
What does the Census say about the background of Alleman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alleman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Alleman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (3,548 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alleman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Alleman (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Alleman mean?
A toponymic surname indicating one who came from Germany or a German-speaking region, derived from French "allemand". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Alleman (1.30 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Alleman?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.