2000
#6,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,728
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.75
Rare Last name
Bierman
An occupational surname referring to a beer brewer or seller of beer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,213 Americans carry the last name Bierman. That puts it at #7,097 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,750 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bierman 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
5.2K
1 in 65,750
Census rank
#7,097
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,546 bearers of the surname Bierman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7097th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bierman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bierman
The surname BIERMAN originated in Germany and the Netherlands in the late medieval period. It is derived from the Middle Low German words "bier" meaning beer and "man" meaning man, so it likely referred to someone who brewed or sold beer.
Some of the earliest known records of the BIERMAN name come from town records and tax rolls in northern Germany and the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th centuries. Spelling variations included Biermann, Beerman, Berman, and Bierman.
In the 16th century, the name BIERMAN appeared in church records in the Dutch city of Haarlem. An early bearer was Jan Bierman, born around 1530 in Haarlem. His son Pieter Bierman was a prominent brewer in the city in the late 1500s.
The BIERMAN name spread across northern Europe in later centuries as people migrated. An early American bearer was Johan Dieterich Bierman, born in 1695 in Wurttemberg, Germany. He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1749 with his wife and children.
Other notable people with the surname BIERMAN include Friedrich Biermann (1834-1884), a German historian and philosopher born in Greussen, Thuringia. Willy Biermann (1915-1987) was a German naval officer who received the Knight's Cross during World War II. Maria Biermann (1909-1996) was a German botanist and academic born in Cologne. Godert Willem Bierman (1894-1980) was a Dutch rower who competed at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bierman
Among Census respondents with the surname Bierman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Bierman 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 Bierman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 4,239
- Two or more races2.7% · 125
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 120
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 28
- Black or African American0.4% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bierman
Bierman 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
#6,673
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,064
+336 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 60 places
2020
#7,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,546
-518 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Down 424 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,613 | 4,728 | 1.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,673 | 5,064 | 1.72 | +336 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 60 places |
| 2020 | #7,097 | 4,546 | 1.52 | -518 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 424 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 Bierman 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 | #6,673 | #7,097 | -6.4% |
| Count | 5,064 | 4,546 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.52 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bierman bearers went from 5,064 to 4,546 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 424 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,673 to #7,097.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bierman
FAQ
Bierman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bierman?
Name Census estimates that about 5,213 living Americans carry the surname Bierman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,750 residents.
How common is Bierman?
Bierman ranks #7,097 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,546 people with the surname Bierman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,213), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Bierman.
Has Bierman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bierman went from 5,064 recorded bearers to 4,546. That is a decrease of 518 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,673 to #7,097.
What does the Census say about the background of Bierman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bierman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Bierman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (4,239 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bierman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Bierman (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 Bierman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a beer brewer or seller of beer. 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 Bierman (1.52 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 Bierman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.