2000
#14,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,869
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Fuhrmann
An occupational surname referring to a wagon driver, cart driver, or coachman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,268 Americans carry the last name Fuhrmann. That puts it at #14,503 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,126 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fuhrmann 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
2.3K
1 in 151,126
Census rank
#14,503
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,978 bearers of the surname Fuhrmann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14503rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fuhrmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fuhrmann
The surname Fuhrmann originated in Germany and is derived from the German word "Fuhrmann," which means "driver" or "carter." The name dates back to the 12th century and was initially given to individuals whose occupation involved driving horse-drawn vehicles, such as carts or coaches.
In the Middle Ages, surnames often emerged from occupations, and the name Fuhrmann became a hereditary surname passed down through generations of families involved in transportation or hauling services. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval German documents and records from various regions, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Prussia.
One of the earliest known references to the name Fuhrmann appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is also mentioned in the Stadtbücher (city books) of various German towns, which recorded legal transactions, property transfers, and other official matters.
Prominent individuals with the surname Fuhrmann throughout history include Johann Christoph Fuhrmann (1668-1719), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Leipzig. Another notable figure was Johann Georg Fuhrmann (1753-1828), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.
In the 19th century, Carl Fuhrmann (1835-1919) was a German entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Fuhrmann Brewery in Berlin, which became one of the largest breweries in Germany at the time. The name Fuhrmann also appears in historical records from other German-speaking regions, such as Austria and Switzerland.
Other notable individuals with the surname Fuhrmann include Erich Fuhrmann (1899-1974), a German actor and film director, and Wolfgang Fuhrmann (born 1944), a German computer scientist and professor known for his contributions to the field of computational complexity theory.
Throughout its history, the surname Fuhrmann has been associated with various occupations and professions related to transportation, hauling, and logistics, reflecting its origins as a name given to individuals involved in driving and operating horse-drawn vehicles.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fuhrmann
Among Census respondents with the surname Fuhrmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Fuhrmann 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 Fuhrmann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 1,850
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 54
- Two or more races2.5% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 17
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fuhrmann
Fuhrmann 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
#15,120
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,951
+82 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 516 places
2020
#14,503
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,978
+27 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 617 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,604 | 1,869 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,120 | 1,951 | 0.66 | +82 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 516 places |
| 2020 | #14,503 | 1,978 | 0.66 | +27 bearers (+1.4%) | Up 617 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 Fuhrmann 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 | #15,120 | #14,503 | 4.1% |
| Count | 1,951 | 1,978 | 1.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.66 | 0.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fuhrmann bearers went from 1,951 to 1,978 (+1.4% change). The surname moved up 617 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,120 to #14,503.
FAQ
Fuhrmann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fuhrmann?
Name Census estimates that about 2,268 living Americans carry the surname Fuhrmann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,126 residents.
How common is Fuhrmann?
Fuhrmann ranks #14,503 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,978 people with the surname Fuhrmann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Fuhrmann.
Has Fuhrmann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fuhrmann went from 1,951 recorded bearers to 1,978. That is an increase of 27 (+1.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,120 to #14,503.
What does the Census say about the background of Fuhrmann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fuhrmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Fuhrmann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (1,850 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fuhrmann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Fuhrmann (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 Fuhrmann mean?
An occupational surname referring to a wagon driver, cart driver, or coachman. 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 Fuhrmann (0.66 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 Fuhrmann?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Fuhrmann at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.