2000
#2,582
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,887
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.78
Uncommon Last name
Bachman
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived by or worked near a stream or brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,519 Americans carry the last name Bachman. That puts it at #2,988 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,354 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bachman 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
14K
1 in 25,354
Census rank
#2,988
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,789 bearers of the surname Bachman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2988th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bachman
The surname Bachman originated in Germany, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "bach," meaning a small stream or brook, and "mann," meaning man or person. This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a small stream or worked with water.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Bachman can be found in various German documents and records from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of charters and documents from Saxony, dating back to the year 1282.
In the 15th century, the name Bachman appeared in the Berne Shtetl Book, a historical document from the town of Berne in Switzerland. This record includes several individuals with the surname Bachman, indicating that the name had spread beyond Germany by that time.
One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Bachman was Johann Bachman (1586-1656), a German theologian and professor at the University of Jena. He was renowned for his scholarly works on biblical exegesis and church history.
Another significant individual was Gottfried Bachman (1687-1756), a German composer and organist who served as the kapellmeister (music director) at the court of Saxe-Merseburg. His compositions, primarily sacred works and concertos, were widely admired during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, John Bachman (1790-1874) was a Lutheran minister, naturalist, and co-author of the renowned work "Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America." He made significant contributions to the study of natural history in the United States.
Rudolph Bachman (1841-1916) was a German-American artist known for his landscape paintings and etchings. He was a member of the Hudson River School and spent much of his career capturing the beauty of the American wilderness.
Another notable figure was Paul Bachman (1913-1997), a German-American mathematician and computer scientist. He made significant contributions to the development of the FORTRAN programming language and was instrumental in the early years of computer science research.
Throughout its history, the surname Bachman has been associated with various professions and fields, including theology, music, natural history, art, and science. While the name may have originated from a geographical reference, it has since become a diverse and widely recognized surname across different cultures and regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bachman
Among Census respondents with the surname Bachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Bachman 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 Bachman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 10,922
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 366
- Two or more races2.6% · 309
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 91
- Black or African American0.5% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bachman
Bachman 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
#2,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,057
+170 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 4.43
Rank movement Down 181 places
2020
#2,988
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,789
-1,268 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 3.94
Rank movement Down 225 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,582 | 12,887 | 4.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,763 | 13,057 | 4.43 | +170 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 181 places |
| 2020 | #2,988 | 11,789 | 3.94 | -1,268 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 225 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 Bachman 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 | #2,763 | #2,988 | -8.1% |
| Count | 13,057 | 11,789 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.43 | 3.94 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bachman bearers went from 13,057 to 11,789 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 225 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,763 to #2,988.
FAQ
Bachman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bachman?
Name Census estimates that about 13,519 living Americans carry the surname Bachman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,354 residents.
How common is Bachman?
Bachman ranks #2,988 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,789 people with the surname Bachman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,519), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Bachman.
Has Bachman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bachman went from 13,057 recorded bearers to 11,789. That is a decrease of 1,268 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,763 to #2,988.
What does the Census say about the background of Bachman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Bachman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (10,922 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bachman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Bachman (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 Bachman mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived by or worked near a stream or brook. 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 Bachman (3.94 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 Americans have the surname Bachman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.