2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Gesaman
A surname of German origin meaning "traveling companion" or "fellow traveler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Gesaman. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gesaman 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Gesaman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gesaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gesaman
The surname GESAMAN is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, Germany during the late 15th century. It is derived from the Old German words "gesa" meaning spear and "mann" meaning man, likely referring to a skilled spearman or warrior.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Meissen, Saxony, where a Friedrich Gesaman is mentioned as a resident in 1487. The name also appears in the church records of Freiberg, Saxony, with the baptism of Hans Gesaman in 1503.
In the 16th century, the name began to spread to other parts of Germany, with records showing a Konrad Gesaman living in Nuremberg in 1542. The variant spelling "Gessaman" is also found in this period, such as in the birth record of Bartholomäus Gessaman in Augsburg in 1573.
A notable figure bearing the name was Johannes Gesaman (1592-1647), a Lutheran theologian and author from Strasbourg, who wrote several influential works on Protestant doctrine. Another was Christoph Gesaman (1628-1693), a merchant and member of the city council in Frankfurt am Main.
In the 18th century, the name made its way to other parts of Europe, with records showing a Pierre Gesaman living in Alsace, France in 1712. A variant spelling, "Ghesaman", is found in the Netherlands with the birth of Willem Ghesaman in Amsterdam in 1784.
Some other notable individuals with the surname include:
- Hans Gesaman (1803-1876), a German painter from Dresden
- Karl Gesaman (1845-1919), a Austrian-Hungarian military officer and recipient of the Order of Maria Theresa
- Émile Gesaman (1876-1958), a French composer and conductor from Lyon
- Erna Gesaman (1904-1987), a German-born American chemist and professor at the University of Chicago
- Dieter Gesaman (1930-2011), a German writer and poet from Berlin
While the surname GESAMAN is relatively rare, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and regions of Europe, with many notable individuals contributing to various fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gesaman
Among Census respondents with the surname Gesaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Gesaman 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 Gesaman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 11
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gesaman
Gesaman 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+8 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,861 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-15 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 1,861 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 15,223 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 Gesaman 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 | #129,047 | #144,270 | -11.8% |
| Count | 132 | 117 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gesaman bearers went from 132 to 117 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 15,223 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #144,270.
FAQ
Gesaman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gesaman?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Gesaman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Gesaman?
Gesaman ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Gesaman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Gesaman.
Has Gesaman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gesaman went from 132 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 15 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Gesaman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gesaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.4%) and Black (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 Gesaman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gesaman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Hispanic (9.4%), Black (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 Gesaman (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 Gesaman mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "traveling companion" or "fellow traveler". 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 Gesaman (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 share the surname Gesaman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.