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

Alterman, 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 Alterman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alterman in America

Alterman is the 31754th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alterman surname appeared 727 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Alterman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alterman 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 Alterman

The surname Alterman has its origins in Germany, where it emerged in the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the German words "alt" meaning "old" and "mann" meaning "man," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to an elderly or respected individual within a community.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Alterman surname can be found in the Rothenburg ob der Tauber tax records from the late 14th century, which mention an individual named Hans Alterman. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Alterman name appeared in various historical documents across central and southern Germany, including church records and municipal registers. In some cases, the name was spelled slightly differently, such as "Altermann" or "Altman."

Notably, in the 1600s, a prominent individual named Johann Alterman was a respected scholar and theologian at the University of Tübingen. He authored several influential works on theology and philosophy, cementing the Alterman name in academic circles of the time.

Another notable figure with the Alterman surname was Friedrich Alterman, born in 1785 in Saxony, who served as a military officer during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a respected politician and statesman in the Kingdom of Saxony.

In the 19th century, the Alterman name spread beyond Germany as individuals emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One prominent individual was the Russian-born writer and poet Nathan Alterman (1910-1970), who is considered one of the most influential literary figures in modern Israeli literature.

Other notable individuals with the Alterman surname include the American poet and critic Robert Alterman (1924-2006), the Dutch economist and academic Jan Alterman (1933-2018), and the German philosopher and ethicist Renate Alterman (born 1951).

While the Alterman name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by individuals who have contributed to various fields and disciplines throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alterman

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

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 Alterman 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 Alterman 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 Alterman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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