2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Gerchman
A surname of German origin meaning "merchant" or "trader".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Gerchman. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerchman 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Gerchman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerchman, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerchman
The surname "GERCHMAN" originated in the German-speaking regions of Central Europe, particularly in the areas that are now parts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century.
The name "GERCHMAN" is likely derived from the German word "Gerch," which means "spear" or "lance." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, referring to someone who made or wielded spears or lances, perhaps a soldier or a weapon maker.
There are records of the name appearing in various historical documents from the region, such as town records, tax rolls, and legal documents. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval charters and documents from the Holy Roman Empire, dating back to the 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname "GERCHMAN" was Hans Gerchman, a blacksmith who lived in the town of Augsburg, Germany, in the late 15th century. Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Gerchman, a scholar and theologian who lived in the 16th century and was known for his writings on religious reformation.
In the 17th century, there was a family of Gerchmans who were prominent landowners and noblemen in the region of Saxony, Germany. One of the members of this family, Friedrich von Gerchman, served as a military officer and participated in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).
During the 18th century, a renowned painter named Johann Friedrich Gerchman (1708-1768) hailed from the town of Nuremberg, Germany. His paintings, which often depicted religious scenes and portraits, can still be found in various museums and galleries across Europe.
Another notable individual with the surname "GERCHMAN" was Karl Gerchman (1820-1895), a German-born industrialist who immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century and established a successful manufacturing company in Pennsylvania.
Throughout history, the name "GERCHMAN" has also been associated with various places and geographical locations, such as Gerchmansdorf, a small village in Bavaria, Germany, which likely derived its name from the surname itself.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerchman
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerchman, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerchman 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 Gerchman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 117
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerchman
Gerchman 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
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+6 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 3,484 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-18 bearers (-13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,493 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #122,534 | 130 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | +6 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 3,484 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-13.2%) | Down 17,493 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 Gerchman 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 | #126,018 | #143,511 | -13.9% |
| Count | 136 | 118 | -13.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerchman bearers went from 136 to 118 (-13.2% change). The surname moved down 17,493 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #143,511.
FAQ
Gerchman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerchman?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Gerchman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Gerchman?
Gerchman ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Gerchman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Gerchman.
Has Gerchman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerchman went from 136 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 18 (-13.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerchman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerchman, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Gerchman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerchman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Gerchman (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 Gerchman mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "merchant" or "trader". 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 Gerchman (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 are called Gerchman?
Want to know how many people have the surname Gerchman? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.