2000
#13,175
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Baumer
A German occupational surname referring to a tree farmer or someone who cultivates trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,134 Americans carry the last name Baumer. That puts it at #15,196 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,616 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Baumer 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
2.1K
1 in 160,616
Census rank
#15,196
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,861 bearers of the surname Baumer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15196th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Baumer
The surname Baumer is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German word "buomann," which means "farmer" or "peasant." The name was initially used to refer to someone who worked the land or lived in a rural area.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Baumer can be found in various medieval documents and records from the German regions of Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Friedrich Baumer, who lived in the town of Nuremberg in the 13th century.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name Baumer began to spread across other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring countries like Switzerland and Austria. It was often associated with rural areas and agricultural communities, reflecting its origins as a descriptive surname for farmers and peasants.
In the 16th century, the name Baumer appeared in several notable historical records, including the Augsburg Tax Rolls of 1516, where a certain Hans Baumer was listed as a resident of the city. Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Baumer, a German scholar and theologian who lived from 1512 to 1584.
As the centuries passed, the Baumer surname continued to be found throughout Germany and other German-speaking regions. Some notable individuals with this last name include:
1. Johann Wilhelm Baumer (1719-1788), a German composer and organist.
2. Friedrich Baumer (1783-1845), a German painter and engraver.
3. Gertrud Baumer (1873-1954), a German feminist and women's rights activist.
4. Hans Baumer (1891-1988), a German architect and urban planner.
5. Franz Baumer (1892-1964), an Austrian actor and film director.
While the surname Baumer has its roots in the agricultural communities of medieval Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, its origins can be traced back to the Old High German word "buomann," reflecting the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the German-speaking regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Baumer
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Baumer 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 Baumer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,722
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 60
- Two or more races2.9% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 14
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Baumer
Baumer 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
#13,759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,199
+73 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 584 places
2020
#15,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,861
-338 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 1,437 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,175 | 2,126 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,759 | 2,199 | 0.75 | +73 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 584 places |
| 2020 | #15,196 | 1,861 | 0.62 | -338 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 1,437 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 Baumer 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 | #13,759 | #15,196 | -10.4% |
| Count | 2,199 | 1,861 | -15.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.62 | -17.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Baumer bearers went from 2,199 to 1,861 (-15.4% change). The surname moved down 1,437 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,759 to #15,196.
FAQ
Baumer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Baumer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,134 living Americans carry the surname Baumer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,616 residents.
How common is Baumer?
Baumer ranks #15,196 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,861 people with the surname Baumer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Baumer.
Has Baumer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Baumer went from 2,199 recorded bearers to 1,861. That is a decrease of 338 (-15.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,759 to #15,196.
What does the Census say about the background of Baumer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Baumer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Baumer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,722 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Baumer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Baumer (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 Baumer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a tree farmer or someone who cultivates trees. 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 Baumer (0.62 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 Baumer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.