2000
#8,861
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,399
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.26
Rare Last name
Horstman
A German occupational surname derived from "Horst," referring to someone living near or tending to a thicket or wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,827 Americans carry the last name Horstman. That puts it at #9,356 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,562 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Horstman 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
3.8K
1 in 89,562
Census rank
#9,356
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,337 bearers of the surname Horstman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9356th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Horstman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Horstman
The surname Horstman is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is a locational surname, derived from the place name Horst, which means a small wooded hill or a thicket. The surname Horstman would have originally referred to someone who lived near or came from such a place.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Horstman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of documents from the medieval period in Saxony, Germany. In this collection, a certain Henricus Horstman is mentioned as a witness to a land transfer in the year 1293.
Another historical reference to the name Horstman is found in the Kirchenbücher, or church records, of the town of Hagen in the Westphalia region of Germany. These records mention a family named Horstman residing in the town as early as the 16th century.
In the Netherlands, the name Horstman is also found, with a slight variation in spelling as Horstmann. One notable individual with this surname was Gerard Horstmann, a Dutch painter who lived from 1659 to 1734 and specialized in still-life paintings.
Moving to England, the name Horstman appears in various historical records, albeit with some variations in spelling. The Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire from the late 15th century mention a certain John Horsteman, while the Hearth Tax Rolls of Lincolnshire from the 17th century list a William Horstman.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Horstman in North America was Johann Horstman, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 17th century. He is recorded as having acquired land in what is now Berks County in 1698.
Another notable person with the surname Horstman was Wilhelm Horstman, a German-born American politician who served as the 22nd Governor of Idaho from 1909 to 1911. He was born in 1842 and played a significant role in the development of the state's mining industry.
In the field of academia, one cannot overlook the contributions of Charles Horstman, an English scholar and editor who lived from 1865 to 1944. He was known for his work on medieval English literature, particularly the works of Richard Rolle and the Pearl poet.
These examples illustrate the rich history and diverse geographical spread of the surname Horstman, which has its origins in the German language and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life across different parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Horstman
Among Census respondents with the surname Horstman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Horstman 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 Horstman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 3,133
- Two or more races3.2% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 23
- Black or African American0.2% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Horstman
Horstman 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
#8,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,664
+265 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Down 75 places
2020
#9,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,337
-327 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 420 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,861 | 3,399 | 1.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,936 | 3,664 | 1.24 | +265 bearers (+7.8%) | Down 75 places |
| 2020 | #9,356 | 3,337 | 1.12 | -327 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 420 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 Horstman 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 | #8,936 | #9,356 | -4.7% |
| Count | 3,664 | 3,337 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.12 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Horstman bearers went from 3,664 to 3,337 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 420 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,936 to #9,356.
FAQ
Horstman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Horstman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,827 living Americans carry the surname Horstman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,562 residents.
How common is Horstman?
Horstman ranks #9,356 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.12 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 3,337 people with the surname Horstman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,827), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.12 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 Horstman.
Has Horstman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Horstman went from 3,664 recorded bearers to 3,337. That is a decrease of 327 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,936 to #9,356.
What does the Census say about the background of Horstman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Horstman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Horstman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (3,133 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Horstman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Horstman (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 Horstman mean?
A German occupational surname derived from "Horst," referring to someone living near or tending to a thicket or wood. 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 Horstman (1.12 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 Americans have the surname Horstman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.