2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Gerstmann
A Germanic surname derived from the word "Gerste" meaning barley, likely referring to a barley farmer or merchant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Gerstmann. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerstmann 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Gerstmann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerstmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerstmann
The surname GERSTMANN is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German words "gerste" meaning "barley" and "man" referring to a person. It originally referred to someone who grew or traded barley, or was associated with the crop in some way.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century in various records from what is now southern Germany and parts of Austria and Switzerland. Variations in spelling included Gerstman, Gersteman, and Gerstemann during this period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Manesse, a renowned 14th century manuscript containing poetry and illustrations of the Middle High German period. It lists a "Dietrich Gerstmann" as a knight from the Swabian region.
In the 15th century, a "Hans Gerstmann" is mentioned in records from the city of Nuremberg as a master brewer, suggesting the name's continued association with barley and its uses.
The name appears to have spread throughout German-speaking regions in the following centuries, with records showing Gerstmanns in areas like Saxony, Bavaria, and Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic).
Notable individuals with the surname GERSTMANN include Josef Gerstmann (1887-1969), an Austrian neurologist who described a syndrome now bearing his name, and Kurt Gerstmann (1904-1981), a German Olympic gymnast who won gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Games.
Other examples are Erwin Gerstmann (1891-1959), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, and Hans Gerstmann (1885-1914), an Austrian painter associated with the Expressionist movement.
In more recent times, the surname GERSTMANN has been found among people of German descent in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, reflecting the migration patterns of German-speaking populations over the past few centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerstmann
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerstmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerstmann 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 Gerstmann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerstmann
Gerstmann 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,845 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-10 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,409 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 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 8,845 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 11,409 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 Gerstmann 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 | #131,379 | #142,788 | -8.7% |
| Count | 129 | 119 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerstmann bearers went from 129 to 119 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 11,409 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #142,788.
FAQ
Gerstmann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerstmann?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Gerstmann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Gerstmann?
Gerstmann ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Gerstmann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Gerstmann.
Has Gerstmann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerstmann went from 129 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerstmann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerstmann, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Gerstmann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerstmann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Gerstmann (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 Gerstmann mean?
A Germanic surname derived from the word "Gerste" meaning barley, likely referring to a barley farmer or merchant. 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 Gerstmann (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 Gerstmann?
If you just want to know how common the surname Gerstmann is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.