Gehrmann last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Gehrmann is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gehrmann.

Meaning of Gehrmann

A surname of German origin meaning a lancer or spearman.

Gehrmann, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gehrmann surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gehrmann in America

Gehrmann is the 54296th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gehrmann surname appeared 380 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gehrmann.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gehrmann to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 54296 53420 1.63%
Count 380 363 4.58%
Proportion per 100k 0.13 0.13 0.00%

The history of the last name Gehrmann

The surname GEHRMANN is of German origin, emerging in the late medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the region of modern-day Saxony or Brandenburg, where it was likely an occupational name for a shepherd or someone who tended to herds of livestock.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GEHRMANN can be found in the municipal records of the city of Leipzig in 1482, where a certain Hans Gehrmann is listed as a citizen. Another early reference is from the village of Dahme in 1512, where a Bartholomeus Gehrmann is mentioned in a land deed.

The name is derived from the Middle High German word "gēr," meaning a spear or javelin, which was a common tool used by shepherds to herd and protect their flocks. The suffix "-mann" signifies a person or someone associated with a particular occupation or trait.

In its earliest forms, the name was sometimes spelled as "Gehrman," "Germann," or "Geermann," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and orthography during the late medieval and early modern periods.

One notable bearer of the GEHRMANN name was Johann Christoph Gehrmann (1680-1756), a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Leipzig. He published several works on theology and church history during his lifetime.

Another historical figure was Carl Friedrich Gehrmann (1788-1867), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings and public spaces in Berlin during the 19th century.

In the 18th century, a branch of the GEHRMANN family emigrated to the United States, where they settled in Pennsylvania. One of their descendants, William Gehrmann (1835-1917), served as a Union soldier during the American Civil War and later became a successful businessman in Philadelphia.

The name GEHRMANN can also be found in historical records from other parts of Germany, such as the Rhineland and Bavaria, suggesting that it may have spread from its original heartland in Saxony and Brandenburg over time.

A more recent notable bearer of the name was Otto Gehrmann (1899-1963), a German film actor and director who appeared in numerous productions during the early 20th century, including several films directed by G.W. Pabst.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gehrmann

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gehrmann.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gehrmann was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.26% 343
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.89% 11
Hispanic Origin 5.00% 19

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gehrmann has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.26% 95.04% -5.16%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.89% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 5.00% 3.03% 49.07%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gehrmann was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gehrmann, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Gehrmann last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 4, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/gehrmann-surname-popularity/.

"Gehrmann last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/gehrmann-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 August, 2025

Gehrmann last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/gehrmann-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.