2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Eltman
A surname derived from the Scandinavian word for "elk" or "moose".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Eltman. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Eltman 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Eltman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Eltman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Eltman
The surname ELTMAN originates from Germany, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German words "elte" and "man," meaning "old" and "man," respectively. This suggests that the name initially referred to an elderly person or the eldest male member of a family or community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, Germany. In this manuscript, a certain "Eltmannus de Erfordia" is mentioned in a charter dated 1187, indicating the presence of the name in the region during the 12th century.
The ELTMAN surname is also linked to various place names in Germany, such as Eltmannshausen, a village in Thuringia. This connection suggests that some ELTMAN families may have taken their name from the locations they inhabited or governed.
Notable individuals bearing the ELTMAN surname include Johann Gottfried Eltman (1711-1784), a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on biblical exegesis. Another figure was Carl Friedrich Eltman (1810-1884), a German mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of geometry.
In the 16th century, the ELTMAN name appeared in the records of the city of Nuremberg, with Hans Eltman (1525-1598) being a prominent merchant and alderman. His son, Caspar Eltman (1560-1621), followed in his footsteps and became a respected trader and member of the city council.
Moving into the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Eltman (1732-1810) was a renowned German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of Weimar. His works, which included operas, oratorios, and instrumental pieces, were highly regarded during his lifetime.
Throughout its history, the ELTMAN surname has maintained a strong presence in various regions of Germany, as well as in areas with significant German immigration, such as parts of North America and Australia. While the spelling may have evolved slightly over time, the name's Germanic roots and associations with concepts of age, wisdom, and community leadership remain evident.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eltman
Among Census respondents with the surname Eltman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Eltman 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 Eltman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Eltman
Eltman 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+3 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,045 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-17 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 15,286 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 6,045 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -17 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 15,286 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 Eltman 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 | #138,304 | #153,590 | -11.1% |
| Count | 121 | 104 | -14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Eltman bearers went from 121 to 104 (-14.0% change). The surname moved down 15,286 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #153,590.
FAQ
Eltman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Eltman?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Eltman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Eltman?
Eltman ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Eltman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Eltman.
Has Eltman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Eltman went from 121 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 17 (-14.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Eltman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Eltman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Eltman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Eltman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.8%), Black (1.9%). 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 Eltman (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 Eltman mean?
A surname derived from the Scandinavian word for "elk" or "moose". 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 Eltman (0.03 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 are called Eltman?
See how many Americans have the surname Eltman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.