2000
#1,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,313
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.79
Uncommon Last name
Bateman
An English occupational surname referring to a horse rider or manager of pack animals.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,635 Americans carry the last name Bateman. That puts it at #1,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,610 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bateman 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bateman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,610
Census rank
#1,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,995 bearers of the surname Bateman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bateman, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bateman
The surname Bateman originated from England and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English words 'bate' meaning boat or vessel, and 'man' meaning a person, thus a Bateman was a boatman or sailor. The name was prevalent in areas near rivers and coastlines where boating and fishing were common occupations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a person named Bateman is listed as a landowner in Norfolk. Another early reference is from the Pipe Rolls of Sussex in 1195, mentioning a William Bateman.
In the 13th century, the Bateman family held land in Hartington, Derbyshire, and a branch of the family settled in Newington, Oxfordshire. The latter produced several notable individuals, including Sir William Bateman (1298-1354), who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Bishop of Norwich.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Batemans were also found in Kent, where they held the manor of Shobdon. William Bateman (c. 1350-1428) from this branch was a respected theologian and bishop of Norwich.
In the 16th century, a Bateman family resided at Hartington Hall in Derbyshire, and Thomas Bateman (1515-1580) was a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for the county.
Other notable Batemans include Hezekiah Bateman (1590-1663), an English lawyer and member of the Long Parliament, and William Bateman (1787-1835), an English naturalist and writer on ornithology.
The name has also been linked to various place names such as Bateman's Green in Essex, Bateman Street in Cambridgeshire, and the village of Bateman in Herefordshire. Over time, variations in spelling like Batmann, Battman, and Batteman have also been documented.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bateman
Among Census respondents with the surname Bateman, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Bateman 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 Bateman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 15,268
- Black or African American7.2% · 1,288
- Two or more races3.6% · 639
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 596
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 117
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 87
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bateman
Bateman 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
#1,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,001
+688 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 6.44
Rank movement Down 92 places
2020
#1,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,995
-1,006 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 6.02
Rank movement Down 61 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,801 | 18,313 | 6.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,893 | 19,001 | 6.44 | +688 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 92 places |
| 2020 | #1,954 | 17,995 | 6.02 | -1,006 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 61 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 Bateman 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 | #1,893 | #1,954 | -3.2% |
| Count | 19,001 | 17,995 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.44 | 6.02 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bateman bearers went from 19,001 to 17,995 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 61 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,893 to #1,954.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bateman
FAQ
Bateman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bateman?
Name Census estimates that about 20,635 living Americans carry the surname Bateman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,610 residents.
How common is Bateman?
Bateman ranks #1,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,995 people with the surname Bateman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,635), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Bateman.
Has Bateman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bateman went from 19,001 recorded bearers to 17,995. That is a decrease of 1,006 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,893 to #1,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Bateman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bateman, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Bateman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (15,268 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bateman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Black (7.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Bateman (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 Bateman mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a horse rider or manager of pack animals. 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 Bateman (6.02 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 Bateman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.