2000
#8,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,369
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.25
Rare Last name
Halterman
An occupational surname derived from the German word "Haltermann," meaning a person who herds or tends livestock.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,594 Americans carry the last name Halterman. That puts it at #9,847 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 95,368 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Halterman 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
3.6K
1 in 95,368
Census rank
#9,847
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,134 bearers of the surname Halterman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9847th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Halterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Halterman
The surname Halterman is of German origin, deriving from the region of Westphalia in the north-western part of the country. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is thought to be a variation of the German word "Halter," which means "holder" or "keeper," potentially referring to an occupation or title held by the earliest bearers of the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Halterman surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Electorate of Brandenburg, which dates back to the 13th century. The name appears as "Haltermeyer," which likely evolved into the modern spelling over time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Halterman name was Johannes Halterman, a German theologian and reformer who worked alongside Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation. He was born in 1492 in Wittenberg and played a significant role in translating and disseminating Luther's works.
Another historical figure associated with the Halterman surname is Wilhelm Halterman, a German military officer who served during the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century. He was born in 1604 in Münster and rose to the rank of colonel in the Imperial Army.
During the 18th century, the Halterman name appeared in various records from the Palatinate region of Germany. One notable individual was Johann Halterman, a vintner born in 1712 in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, who gained recognition for his exceptional winemaking skills.
As the Halterman family spread throughout Germany and beyond, the name took on various spellings, such as Haltermann, Haltermeyer, and Haltermayer. In the 19th century, Carl Haltermann, a German botanist born in 1826 in Berlin, made significant contributions to the study of plant life and was renowned for his extensive botanical collections.
While the Halterman surname originated in Germany, it has since been carried to other parts of the world by immigrants and their descendants. The name has appeared in various historical records and documents over the centuries, reflecting its enduring presence and the diverse lives of those who bore it.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Halterman
Among Census respondents with the surname Halterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Halterman 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 Halterman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 2,861
- Two or more races4.4% · 137
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 19
- Black or African American0.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Halterman
Halterman 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
#7,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,156
+787 bearers (+23.4%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Up 969 places
2020
#9,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,134
-1,022 bearers (-24.6%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Down 1,886 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,930 | 3,369 | 1.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,961 | 4,156 | 1.41 | +787 bearers (+23.4%) | Up 969 places |
| 2020 | #9,847 | 3,134 | 1.05 | -1,022 bearers (-24.6%) | Down 1,886 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 Halterman 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 | #7,961 | #9,847 | -23.7% |
| Count | 4,156 | 3,134 | -24.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.41 | 1.05 | -25.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Halterman bearers went from 4,156 to 3,134 (-24.6% change). The surname moved down 1,886 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,961 to #9,847.
FAQ
Halterman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Halterman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,594 living Americans carry the surname Halterman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 95,368 residents.
How common is Halterman?
Halterman ranks #9,847 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.05 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 3,134 people with the surname Halterman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,594), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.05 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 Halterman.
Has Halterman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Halterman went from 4,156 recorded bearers to 3,134. That is a decrease of 1,022 (-24.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,961 to #9,847.
What does the Census say about the background of Halterman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Halterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Halterman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (2,861 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Halterman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Halterman (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 Halterman mean?
An occupational surname derived from the German word "Haltermann," meaning a person who herds or tends livestock. 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 Halterman (1.05 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 Halterman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.