2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Freimanis
A German surname derived from the words "frei" meaning "free" and "mann" meaning "man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Freimanis. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Freimanis 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Freimanis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Freimanis, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Freimanis
The surname Freimanis is of Latvian origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "frei" meaning "free" and the Latvian word "manis" meaning "my." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who was a free person or a free landowner.
In the early days, the name was primarily concentrated in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, particularly around the towns of Cesis and Valmiera. Historical records from the 14th century indicate that several families with the name Freimanis were prominent landowners in this area.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in a document from the Livonian Order, a Catholic military order that ruled over parts of modern-day Latvia and Estonia during the Middle Ages. The document, dated around 1340, mentions a certain Freimanis von Cesis, who was a knight and a landowner in the vicinity of Cesis.
As the centuries passed, the name Freimanis continued to be found in various records and manuscripts throughout Latvia. In the 16th century, a prominent family of the name owned a large estate near the town of Valmiera, and one of their descendants, Janis Freimanis (1520-1589), was a respected scholar and author of several works on Latvian history and culture.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, several members of the Freimanis family held important positions in the government and military of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a vassal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that encompassed parts of modern-day Latvia and Lithuania. One notable figure was Karlis Freimanis (1675-1742), who served as a general in the Courland army and played a significant role in the Great Northern War against Sweden.
In the 19th century, the name Freimanis became more widely spread throughout Latvia, with families bearing this surname found in various cities and towns. One prominent individual from this era was Janis Freimanis (1834-1891), a writer and journalist who was a leading figure in the Latvian National Awakening movement.
Another notable Freimanis was Arturs Freimanis (1879-1941), a politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Latvia in the 1920s and later as the Latvian envoy to the United States and the United Nations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Freimanis
Among Census respondents with the surname Freimanis, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Freimanis 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 Freimanis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 106
- Two or more races5.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Freimanis
Freimanis 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+17 bearers (+16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,087 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +17 bearers (+16.7%) | Up 8,087 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,631 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 Freimanis 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 | #140,157 | #142,788 | -1.9% |
| Count | 119 | 119 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Freimanis bearers went from 119 to 119 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,788.
FAQ
Freimanis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Freimanis?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Freimanis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Freimanis?
Freimanis ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Freimanis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Freimanis.
Has Freimanis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Freimanis went from 119 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Freimanis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Freimanis, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Freimanis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Freimanis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (5.9%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Freimanis (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 Freimanis mean?
A German surname derived from the words "frei" meaning "free" and "mann" meaning "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 Freimanis (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 Freimanis?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.