2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Billerman
A German surname indicating an occupational reference to a woodcutter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Billerman. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Billerman 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Billerman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Billerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Billerman
The surname Billerman is believed to have originated in Germany during the late medieval period, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to have derived from the German words "Biller" meaning "axeman" or "woodcutter" and "mann" meaning "man," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to a person who worked as a woodcutter or lumberjack.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Billerman name can be found in a document from the city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, dated around 1450, which mentions a certain "Hans Billerman." This suggests that the name was already established in this region by the mid-15th century.
Over time, the Billerman name spread to other parts of Germany, and variations in spelling emerged, such as Billermann, Billerman, and Billerman. Some records from the 16th and 17th centuries in various regions of Germany mention individuals with these different spellings of the name.
One notable Billerman from history was Johann Billerman (1598-1672), a Protestant theologian and academic who served as a professor at the University of Jena in Thuringia. Another was Heinrich Billerman (1640-1709), a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
In the 18th century, the Billerman name began to appear in records outside of Germany, indicating that some members of the family had emigrated to other parts of Europe or even further afield. For instance, there are records of a Billerman family living in the Netherlands in the mid-1700s.
Other notable individuals with the Billerman surname include Friedrich Billerman (1805-1879), a German philosopher and author who wrote extensively on ethics and morality, and Wilhelm Billerman (1876-1942), a German businessman and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the steel industry in the Ruhr region.
While the Billerman name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, due to migration and immigration patterns over the past few centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Billerman
Among Census respondents with the surname Billerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Billerman 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 Billerman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Billerman
Billerman 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
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,617 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+7 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,777 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 12,617 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 8,777 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 Billerman 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 | #159,712 | #150,935 | 5.5% |
| Count | 101 | 108 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Billerman bearers went from 101 to 108 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 8,777 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #150,935.
FAQ
Billerman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Billerman?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Billerman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Billerman?
Billerman ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Billerman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Billerman.
Has Billerman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Billerman went from 101 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 7 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Billerman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Billerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Billerman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Billerman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Billerman (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 Billerman mean?
A German surname indicating an occupational reference to a woodcutter. 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 Billerman (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 Americans have the surname Billerman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.