2000
#2,398
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,847
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.13
Uncommon Last name
Baughman
An occupational surname referring to a person who owned or worked with trees or wood, such as a carpenter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,448 Americans carry the last name Baughman. That puts it at #2,616 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,188 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baughman 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
15K
1 in 22,188
Census rank
#2,616
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,471 bearers of the surname Baughman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2616th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baughman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baughman
The surname Baughman originated in Germany, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German words "bach" meaning stream, and "mann" meaning man, thus referring to someone who lived near a stream or brook.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Baughman name can be found in the town records of Wittgenstein, a former county in the present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1587, a certain Hans Baughman is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Erndtebrück.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Bachmann, Bauchman, and Baugham. These variations often reflected regional dialects and the preferences of local record-keepers.
In the 17th century, the Baughman name began appearing in historical documents in Switzerland. A notable figure from this era was Johann Michael Baughman, a Swiss painter born in 1622 in Basel, known for his landscapes and portraiture.
The 18th century saw the name Baughman gaining a foothold in the American colonies. One of the earliest documented instances was that of Johann Georg Baughman, who immigrated to Pennsylvania from Wittgenstein in 1738. He and his family settled in what is now York County, where they established a prosperous farming community.
Another prominent figure was Jacob Baughman, a soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War. Born in 1755 in Pennsylvania, he served in the Continental Army under General George Washington and was present at the pivotal Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
In the 19th century, the Baughman name spread further across the United States. One noteworthy individual was William Baughman, a lawyer and politician from Ohio who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1839 to 1843.
Additionally, Samuel Baughman, born in 1833 in Pennsylvania, was a renowned inventor and industrialist. He pioneered several innovations in the field of agriculture, including a groundbreaking reaper design that revolutionized the harvesting process.
As the centuries progressed, the Baughman name continued to be represented across various fields, from academia to business to the arts. Notably, Charles Baughman, born in 1887 in Illinois, was a respected architect known for his contributions to the Prairie School of architecture, a distinctly American style that flourished in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baughman
Among Census respondents with the surname Baughman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Baughman 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 Baughman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 12,359
- Two or more races3.4% · 455
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 358
- Black or African American0.9% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 80
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baughman
Baughman 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
#2,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,230
+383 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 4.82
Rank movement Down 145 places
2020
#2,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,471
-759 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 4.51
Rank movement Down 73 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,398 | 13,847 | 5.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,543 | 14,230 | 4.82 | +383 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 145 places |
| 2020 | #2,616 | 13,471 | 4.51 | -759 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 73 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 Baughman 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 | #2,543 | #2,616 | -2.9% |
| Count | 14,230 | 13,471 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.82 | 4.51 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baughman bearers went from 14,230 to 13,471 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 73 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,543 to #2,616.
FAQ
Baughman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baughman?
Name Census estimates that about 15,448 living Americans carry the surname Baughman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,188 residents.
How common is Baughman?
Baughman ranks #2,616 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,471 people with the surname Baughman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,448), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Baughman.
Has Baughman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baughman went from 14,230 recorded bearers to 13,471. That is a decrease of 759 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,543 to #2,616.
What does the Census say about the background of Baughman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baughman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Baughman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (12,359 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baughman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Baughman (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 Baughman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who owned or worked with trees or wood, such as a carpenter. 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 Baughman (4.51 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 common is the surname Baughman?
Find out how many people are called Baughman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.