2000
#38,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 542
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.20
Very Rare Last name
Batterman
A surname derived from the occupational title "batterman" meaning a maker of batting (wool) or wool-stuffed materials.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 608 Americans carry the last name Batterman. That puts it at #43,829 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 563,741 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Batterman 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
608
1 in 563,741
Census rank
#43,829
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
530
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 530 bearers of the surname Batterman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43829th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Batterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Batterman
The surname Batterman has its origins in Germany, and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "baten," which means "to bathe," and the word "mann," meaning "man." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who worked as a bathkeeper or attendant at public baths.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the town records of Nuremberg in 1532, where a certain Hans Batterman is mentioned as a resident. The name also appears in various other German towns and cities throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, with spellings such as Battermann, Batermann, and Badermann.
In the early 1700s, a family of Battermans settled in the village of Eberbach in the Rhineland region of Germany. This village is known for its historical connections to the wine trade, and it is possible that the Batterman family was involved in this industry.
One notable Batterman from this era was Johann Batterman, born in Eberbach in 1712. He was a successful wine merchant and is mentioned in several documents related to the local wine trade. His son, Wilhelm Batterman (1745-1812), continued in the family business and is said to have been a prominent figure in the Eberbach wine community.
As the years passed, some members of the Batterman family began to migrate to other parts of Europe and beyond. In the late 19th century, a Batterman family settled in the Netherlands, where they established themselves as successful merchants in Amsterdam.
Another notable figure was Hans Batterman (1860-1932), a German engineer who played a key role in the construction of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway, a major infrastructure project in the early 20th century.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Batterman dates back to the mid-19th century, when a family of Battermans arrived from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania. One of their descendants, Carl Batterman (1886-1972), became a respected attorney and served as a judge in the state's legal system.
While the name Batterman is not as common today as it once was, it continues to be carried by families around the world, a testament to its long and fascinating history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Batterman
Among Census respondents with the surname Batterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Batterman 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 Batterman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 495
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 13
- Two or more races2.5% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Batterman
Batterman 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
#40,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 539
-3 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 2,159 places
2020
#43,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 530
-9 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 3,275 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #38,395 | 542 | 0.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #40,554 | 539 | 0.18 | -3 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 2,159 places |
| 2020 | #43,829 | 530 | 0.18 | -9 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 3,275 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 Batterman 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 | #40,554 | #43,829 | -8.1% |
| Count | 539 | 530 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.18 | -1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Batterman bearers went from 539 to 530 (-1.7% change). The surname moved down 3,275 positions in the national ranking, going from #40,554 to #43,829.
FAQ
Batterman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Batterman?
Name Census estimates that about 608 living Americans carry the surname Batterman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 563,741 residents.
How common is Batterman?
Batterman ranks #43,829 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 530 people with the surname Batterman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (608), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Batterman.
Has Batterman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Batterman went from 539 recorded bearers to 530. That is a decrease of 9 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #40,554 to #43,829.
What does the Census say about the background of Batterman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Batterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Batterman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (495 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Batterman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Batterman (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 Batterman mean?
A surname derived from the occupational title "batterman" meaning a maker of batting (wool) or wool-stuffed materials. 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 Batterman (0.18 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 Batterman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.