2000
#10,633
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,765
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.02
Rare Last name
Gutman
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who traded in or produced gut for manufacturing purposes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,215 Americans carry the last name Gutman. That puts it at #10,851 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,611 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gutman 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
3.2K
1 in 106,611
Census rank
#10,851
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,804 bearers of the surname Gutman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10851st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gutman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gutman
The surname Gutman has its origins in German-speaking regions of Europe, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Germanic personal name Guto or Guta, which itself stems from the Old High German word "guot," meaning "good." This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive surname, referring to someone with a good or virtuous character.
In medieval times, the name Gutman appeared in various records across German-speaking territories, including the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae and the Liber Census Daniae. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Henricus Gutman, a landowner mentioned in a document from the city of Meissen, dated 1287.
The surname Gutman also has connections to certain place names, particularly in areas where German settlers established communities. For instance, the village of Gutmannsdorf in Austria, formerly known as Gutmanshofen, likely derived its name from an individual bearing the Gutman surname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the last name Gutman. In the 16th century, Hans Gutman was a renowned goldsmith and engraver from Nuremberg, active between 1510 and 1570. Another prominent figure was Johann Gutman, a German jurist and writer who lived from 1561 to 1617 and authored several legal treatises.
In the 19th century, Philipp Gutman (1819-1890) was a German-American journalist and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Around the same time, Samuel Gutman (1824-1892) was a prominent American banker and philanthropist, co-founding the investment banking firm Kuhn, Loeb & Co. in New York City.
Another notable bearer of the Gutman surname was Walter Gutman (1900-1976), an Austrian-American chemist and professor at Cornell University, renowned for his contributions to the field of analytical chemistry.
While the surname Gutman has its roots in German-speaking regions, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and cultural exchange. However, the core meaning and historical significance of the name remain tied to its Germanic origins and the individuals who have carried it throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gutman
Among Census respondents with the surname Gutman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gutman 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 Gutman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 2,501
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 241
- Two or more races1.2% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gutman
Gutman 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
#10,499
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,056
+291 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Up 134 places
2020
#10,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,804
-252 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 352 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,633 | 2,765 | 1.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,499 | 3,056 | 1.04 | +291 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 134 places |
| 2020 | #10,851 | 2,804 | 0.94 | -252 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 352 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 Gutman 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 | #10,499 | #10,851 | -3.4% |
| Count | 3,056 | 2,804 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.04 | 0.94 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gutman bearers went from 3,056 to 2,804 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 352 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,499 to #10,851.
FAQ
Gutman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gutman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,215 living Americans carry the surname Gutman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,611 residents.
How common is Gutman?
Gutman ranks #10,851 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,804 people with the surname Gutman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,215), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Gutman.
Has Gutman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gutman went from 3,056 recorded bearers to 2,804. That is a decrease of 252 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,499 to #10,851.
What does the Census say about the background of Gutman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gutman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.6%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Gutman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (2,501 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gutman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Hispanic (8.6%), Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Gutman (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 Gutman mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who traded in or produced gut for manufacturing purposes. 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 Gutman (0.94 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 Gutman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.