2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Friedeman
A German surname referring to a peaceful or friendly person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Friedeman. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Friedeman 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Friedeman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedeman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Friedeman
The surname FRIEDEMAN is of German origin, emerging in the 12th century. Its roots can be traced back to the Old High German words "fridu" (peace) and "man" (man), suggesting it may have initially referred to a peaceful or serene individual.
The earliest recorded instances of the name FRIEDEMAN appear in medieval documents from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest known bearers was Friedeman von Regensburg, a nobleman mentioned in a 1187 charter from the city of Regensburg.
During the 13th century, the name FRIEDEMAN gained prominence, appearing in various records and manuscripts. Notably, a certain Friedeman von Nürnberg was a respected burgher (citizen) of Nuremberg, mentioned in city records from 1249.
As the name spread across German-speaking lands, variations in spelling emerged, such as Friedmann, Friedmann, and Friedmann. These variations often reflected regional dialects and scribal preferences.
In the 15th century, the name FRIEDEMAN appeared in the famous Berne Shaking Chronicles, a historical account of the city of Berne, Switzerland. The chronicles mention a Friedeman Müller, a prominent citizen of Berne in the mid-1400s.
Notable historical figures bearing the surname FRIEDEMAN include:
1. Johannes Friedeman (c. 1420 - c. 1490), a German Renaissance scholar and humanist from Nuremberg.
2. Christoph Friedeman (1515 - 1587), a German composer and organist known for his contributions to the Protestant Reformation.
3. Paul Friedeman (1567 - 1631), a German mathematician and astronomer who worked at the University of Wittenberg.
4. Anna Friedeman (1634 - 1703), a German painter known for her still-life compositions and portraits.
5. Johann Friedeman Bach (1712 - 1795), a German composer and the eldest surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach.
While the name FRIEDEMAN originated in Germany, it has since spread to other regions through migration and cultural exchange. However, its historic roots remain firmly grounded in the German-speaking lands of Central Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Friedeman
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedeman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Friedeman 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 Friedeman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Friedeman
Friedeman appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,173 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Up 1,173 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 Friedeman 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 | #146,201 | #145,028 | 0.8% |
| Count | 113 | 116 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Friedeman bearers went from 113 to 116 (+2.7% change). The surname moved up 1,173 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #145,028.
FAQ
Friedeman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Friedeman?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Friedeman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Friedeman?
Friedeman ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Friedeman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Friedeman.
Has Friedeman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Friedeman went from 113 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 3 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Friedeman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Friedeman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Friedeman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Friedeman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Friedeman (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 Friedeman mean?
A German surname referring to a peaceful or friendly person. 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 Friedeman (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 people have the last name Friedeman?
See how many people are called Friedeman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.