Find out how popular the last name Kelman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kelman.

Kelman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kelman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kelman in America

Kelman is the 24339th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kelman surname appeared 1,030 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kelman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kelman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kelman

The surname Kelman has its origins in Scotland and is derived from the Gaelic personal name Colman. Colman is believed to have originated from the Old Irish word 'colm', meaning 'dove'. The name was initially used as a personal name and later became a hereditary surname.

The earliest recorded instances of the Kelman surname can be traced back to the 12th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Colman, son of Gillespic, who was mentioned in the Cartulary of Cambuskenneth in 1200.

The Kelman surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Renfrewshire in the west of Scotland. Records suggest that the name was also found in the areas of Edinburgh, East Lothian, and the Scottish Borders.

A notable early reference to the Kelman name can be found in the Ragman Rolls, which were a series of homage rolls compiled during the reign of King Edward I of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The Ragman Rolls contain the names of several individuals bearing the Kelman surname, including Adam Kelman, who swore fealty to the English king in 1296.

One of the earliest recorded Kelmans was Sir John Kelman (c. 1330-1390), a Scottish knight who fought alongside King Robert II during the Scottish Wars of Independence. Another notable Kelman was Andrew Kelman (1555-1637), a Scottish clergyman and author who served as the minister of the parish of Turriff in Aberdeenshire.

Other notable individuals with the Kelman surname include:

1. John Kelman (1653-1723), a Scottish merchant and landowner from Edinburgh.
2. Susanna Kelman (1795-1870), a Scottish writer and poet from Ayrshire.
3. James Kelman (1946-), a Scottish novelist and playwright, best known for his novel 'How Late It Was, How Late' which won the Booker Prize in 1994.
4. Patrick Kelman (1957-), a Scottish actor and writer, known for his roles in films like 'Trainspotting' and 'Braveheart'.
5. Howard Kelman (1921-2019), an American psychologist and academic, recognized for his work in conflict resolution and peace studies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kelman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kelman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kelman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kelman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kelman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kelman, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!