2000
#10,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,881
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Dorfman
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) topographic surname referring to someone who lived in a village, from Middle High German dorf.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,067 Americans carry the last name Dorfman. That puts it at #11,285 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,756 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dorfman 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
3.1K
1 in 111,756
Census rank
#11,285
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,675 bearers of the surname Dorfman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11285th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorfman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dorfman
The surname DORFMAN is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, tracing its roots to various parts of Eastern Europe in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the Yiddish word "dorf," meaning "village," suggesting that the name's bearers may have hailed from a particular village or rural area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the DORFMAN surname can be found in the Belarusian town of Pinsk, where a Chaim DORFMAN is documented as living in the late 1700s. The name also appeared in various Jewish community records and census documents throughout Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania during this period.
In the early 1800s, a Shmuel DORFMAN from the town of Brest-Litovsk (now in Belarus) gained recognition as a respected Torah scholar and author of several religious texts. His works were widely studied and referenced by Jewish communities across Eastern Europe.
As the 19th century progressed, the DORFMAN name began to spread throughout the Russian Empire, with notable individuals emerging in various fields. Lev DORFMAN (1848-1919), a Russian-Jewish writer and journalist, was a prominent literary figure in St. Petersburg during the late 19th century.
Another notable DORFMAN was Yakov DORFMAN (1871-1942), a renowned Russian mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of differential equations. He taught at several prestigious universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The early 20th century saw the emigration of many DORFMAN families from Eastern Europe to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and South America. Among them was Isaac DORFMAN (1899-1987), a Polish-born American businessman who founded one of the largest furniture manufacturing companies in the United States.
While the DORFMAN name has its origins in Eastern Europe, it has since become widely dispersed across multiple countries and continents, with various spellings and variations emerging over time, reflecting the diverse journeys and experiences of its bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorfman
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorfman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Dorfman 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 Dorfman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,495
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 105
- Two or more races1.3% · 34
- Black or African American0.8% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dorfman
Dorfman 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
#11,229
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,814
-67 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 974 places
2020
#11,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,675
-139 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 56 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,255 | 2,881 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,229 | 2,814 | 0.95 | -67 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 974 places |
| 2020 | #11,285 | 2,675 | 0.89 | -139 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 56 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 Dorfman 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 | #11,229 | #11,285 | -0.5% |
| Count | 2,814 | 2,675 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.89 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dorfman bearers went from 2,814 to 2,675 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 56 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,229 to #11,285.
FAQ
Dorfman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dorfman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,067 living Americans carry the surname Dorfman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,756 residents.
How common is Dorfman?
Dorfman ranks #11,285 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 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 2,675 people with the surname Dorfman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,067), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 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 Dorfman.
Has Dorfman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dorfman went from 2,814 recorded bearers to 2,675. That is a decrease of 139 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,229 to #11,285.
What does the Census say about the background of Dorfman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dorfman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Dorfman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,495 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dorfman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Dorfman (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 Dorfman mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) topographic surname referring to someone who lived in a village, from Middle High German dorf. 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 Dorfman (0.89 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 Dorfman?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Dorfman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.