2000
#9,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,187
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Beckmann
An occupational surname referring to someone living near a stream or brook, from the German "bach" meaning brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,752 Americans carry the last name Beckmann. That puts it at #9,503 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,352 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beckmann 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
3.8K
1 in 91,352
Census rank
#9,503
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,272 bearers of the surname Beckmann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9503rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beckmann
The surname Beckmann is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the regions of Westphalia and Lower Saxony, where it was first recorded in the 13th century. The name is derived from the Old German words "backe" meaning "stream" or "brook" and "mann" meaning "man" or "person."
Beckmann was likely an occupational name given to someone who lived near a stream or brook, perhaps a miller or someone who worked with water. In medieval times, surnames were often derived from a person's occupation, location, or physical characteristics.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Beckmann can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae," a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, where a person named "Hinricus Beckman" is mentioned in a document dated 1298.
Another notable early reference to the name is found in the "Landbuch der Mark Brandenburg," a land registry from the 14th century. In this document, a person named "Beckmann von Kölln" is listed as a landowner in the town of Kölln, which is now part of Berlin.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Beckmann. One of the earliest was Johann Beckmann (1739-1811), a German philosopher, economist, and author who is considered a pioneer of modern technology studies. Another prominent figure was Max Beckmann (1884-1950), a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor who was a leading figure in the Expressionist movement.
Other notable Beckmanns include Friedrich Beckmann (1803-1888), a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the study of electricity and magnetism, and Arnold Beckmann (1833-1919), a German chemist and professor known for his work on organic chemistry and the development of the Beckmann rearrangement reaction.
In more recent times, Peter Beckmann (1921-1976) was a German-American mathematician and philosopher who made significant contributions to the field of statistics and probability theory. These are just a few examples of the many individuals who have carried the surname Beckmann throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beckmann
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Beckmann 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 Beckmann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 2,991
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 169
- Two or more races2.3% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 29
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beckmann
Beckmann 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
#9,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,608
+421 bearers (+13.2%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Up 319 places
2020
#9,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,272
-336 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 445 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,377 | 3,187 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,058 | 3,608 | 1.22 | +421 bearers (+13.2%) | Up 319 places |
| 2020 | #9,503 | 3,272 | 1.09 | -336 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 445 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 Beckmann 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 | #9,058 | #9,503 | -4.9% |
| Count | 3,608 | 3,272 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.22 | 1.09 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beckmann bearers went from 3,608 to 3,272 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 445 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,058 to #9,503.
FAQ
Beckmann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beckmann?
Name Census estimates that about 3,752 living Americans carry the surname Beckmann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,352 residents.
How common is Beckmann?
Beckmann ranks #9,503 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 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 3,272 people with the surname Beckmann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,752), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 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 Beckmann.
Has Beckmann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beckmann went from 3,608 recorded bearers to 3,272. That is a decrease of 336 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,058 to #9,503.
What does the Census say about the background of Beckmann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Beckmann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,991 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beckmann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (5.2%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Beckmann (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 Beckmann mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone living near a stream or brook, from the German "bach" meaning 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 Beckmann (1.09 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 last name Beckmann?
See how many Americans have the surname Beckmann on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.