2000
#112,365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 145
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Geertsema
A Dutch surname derived from the masculine given name Geertsema, meaning "son of Geert".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 183 Americans carry the last name Geertsema. That puts it at #115,686 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,872,975 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Geertsema 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
183
1 in 1,872,975
Census rank
#115,686
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
160
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 160 bearers of the surname Geertsema in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 115686th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Geertsema, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Geertsema
The surname Geertsema originated in the northern Netherlands, most likely in the province of Friesland. It is thought to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Frisian given name Gheerd or Geerd, which is a variant of the Germanic name Gerhard, meaning "brave spear." The suffix -sema or -sama is believed to be a patronymic element, indicating "son of."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Frisian farmstead registers of the late 16th century, where a Geertsema family is listed as residing in the village of Warns. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the regions around the cities of Leeuwarden and Franeker.
In the 17th century, a Douwe Geertsema is mentioned in the records of the University of Franeker, where he studied theology and later became a minister. Around the same time, a merchant named Pieter Geertsema is documented in the trade records of the city of Amsterdam.
During the 18th century, a notable bearer of the name was Jacobus Geertsema, a renowned mathematician and astronomer who was born in Leeuwarden in 1718. He made significant contributions to the fields of navigation and cartography.
Another prominent figure was Cornelis Geertsema, a military officer who served in the Dutch East Indies in the late 18th century. He was born in Franeker in 1761 and played a role in the Dutch colonial administration.
In the 19th century, Johannes Geertsema, born in 1824 in Leeuwarden, was a prominent lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Dutch Parliament.
Over time, the name Geertsema has spread beyond the Netherlands, with bearers of the name found in various parts of the world, including North America and Australia, due to migration and diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Geertsema
Among Census respondents with the surname Geertsema, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Geertsema 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 Geertsema surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 141
- Two or more races6.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Geertsema
Geertsema 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
#115,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 151
+6 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 3,274 places
2020
#115,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 160
+9 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 47 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #112,365 | 145 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #115,639 | 151 | 0.05 | +6 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 3,274 places |
| 2020 | #115,686 | 160 | 0.05 | +9 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 47 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 Geertsema 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 | #115,639 | #115,686 | -0.0% |
| Count | 151 | 160 | 6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | 7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Geertsema bearers went from 151 to 160 (+6.0% change). The surname moved down 47 positions in the national ranking, going from #115,639 to #115,686.
FAQ
Geertsema surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Geertsema?
Name Census estimates that about 183 living Americans carry the surname Geertsema. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,872,975 residents.
How common is Geertsema?
Geertsema ranks #115,686 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 160 people with the surname Geertsema. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (183), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Geertsema.
Has Geertsema become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Geertsema went from 151 recorded bearers to 160. That is an increase of 9 (+6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #115,639 to #115,686.
What does the Census say about the background of Geertsema?
Among Census respondents with the surname Geertsema, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Geertsema in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (141 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Geertsema appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Two or More Races (6.3%), Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Geertsema (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 Geertsema mean?
A Dutch surname derived from the masculine given name Geertsema, meaning "son of Geert". 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 Geertsema (0.05 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 Geertsema?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Geertsema on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.