2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Behlman
A surname from northern Germany meaning "brave man" or "courageous man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Behlman. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Behlman 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Behlman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Behlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Behlman
The surname Behlman is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Behl," which refers to a hill or small mound, and the suffix "-man," indicating a person or someone associated with a particular place or occupation. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a hill or worked in a profession related to hills or mounds.
One of the earliest known records of the Behlman name dates back to the late 17th century, where it appears in church registers from the region of Bavaria, Germany. In these records, the name is sometimes spelled as "Behlmann" or "Behlman," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common during that time.
While there are no definitive historical references to the Behlman name in major manuscripts or chronicles, it is possible that the name may have been associated with specific localities or regions within Germany where hills or mounds were a prominent geographical feature.
Among the earliest recorded individuals with the Behlman surname was Johann Behlman, born in 1692 in the town of Augsburg, Bavaria. Another notable individual was Hans Behlman, a farmer from the village of Mühldorf, who was born in 1718.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Behlman, including:
1. Friedrich Behlman (1832-1911), a German-American painter and illustrator known for his landscape and genre works.
2. Wilhelm Behlman (1867-1942), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
3. Anna Behlman (1874-1956), a German-American philanthropist and women's rights activist who founded several charitable organizations in New York City.
4. Otto Behlman (1901-1987), a German-born American engineer and inventor who held numerous patents in the field of automotive technology.
5. Hans Behlman (1919-2002), a German-American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the development of early programming languages.
It is worth noting that the Behlman surname may have evolved or been altered over time, with variations in spelling and pronunciation occurring as families migrated or settled in different regions. Additionally, the name may have been associated with various place names or geographical features related to hills or mounds, contributing to its diversity and historical significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Behlman
Among Census respondents with the surname Behlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Behlman 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 Behlman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 6
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Behlman
Behlman 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,444 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,245 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 6,444 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 3,245 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 Behlman 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 | #146,201 | #149,446 | -2.2% |
| Count | 113 | 110 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Behlman bearers went from 113 to 110 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 3,245 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #149,446.
FAQ
Behlman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Behlman?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Behlman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Behlman?
Behlman ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Behlman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Behlman.
Has Behlman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Behlman went from 113 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Behlman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Behlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Behlman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Behlman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (5.5%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Behlman (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 Behlman mean?
A surname from northern Germany meaning "brave man" or "courageous man." 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 Behlman (0.04 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 Behlman?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Behlman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.