2000
#11,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,465
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Koopman
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a merchant, trader, or dealer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,652 Americans carry the last name Koopman. That puts it at #12,744 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,244 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Koopman 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
2.7K
1 in 129,244
Census rank
#12,744
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,313 bearers of the surname Koopman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12744th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Koopman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Koopman
The surname Koopman is of Dutch origin and dates back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Middle Dutch words "koop" meaning trade or purchase, and "man" meaning man. This surname was originally given to merchants or traders who dealt in goods and commodities.
The earliest known record of the name Koopman can be found in the Dutch city of Leiden in the year 1487. It appears in municipal archives, where a Willem Koopman is listed as a merchant dealing in textiles. The name was also prevalent in other Dutch cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam during the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Netherlands was a major maritime trading power.
In the 17th century, the name Koopman was found in various spellings such as Coopman, Coopmann, and Koopmans, reflecting the variations in orthography during that time. The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Koopmanshaven (literally translated as "merchant's harbor") in the city of Dordrecht.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the surname Koopman was Jan Koopman, a Dutch sailor and explorer who accompanied the famous Dutch navigator Willem Barents on his expedition to the Arctic in 1596. Another notable figure was Hessel Koopman, a Dutch Golden Age painter who was active in the mid-17th century and known for his still-life paintings.
In the 18th century, the name Koopman spread beyond the Netherlands to other parts of Europe and the Americas. For instance, Johann Koopman (1734-1811) was a German Baroque composer and organist who lived and worked in Sweden. Adrianus Koopman (1736-1808) was a Dutch-American settler and farmer who was one of the first European settlers in what is now the state of Tennessee.
During the 19th century, the name Koopman was found in various parts of the world due to Dutch emigration and trade. One notable figure was Tobias Koopman (1840-1904), a Dutch-American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of San Francisco from 1893 to 1895.
Throughout its history, the surname Koopman has been associated with mercantile activities and trade, reflecting its origins as an occupational surname given to merchants and traders in the Netherlands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koopman
Among Census respondents with the surname Koopman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Koopman 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 Koopman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,159
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 66
- Two or more races2.2% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Koopman
Koopman 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
#12,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,417
-48 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 1,106 places
2020
#12,744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,313
-104 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,660 | 2,465 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,766 | 2,417 | 0.82 | -48 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 1,106 places |
| 2020 | #12,744 | 2,313 | 0.77 | -104 bearers (-4.3%) | Up 22 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 Koopman 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 | #12,766 | #12,744 | 0.2% |
| Count | 2,417 | 2,313 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.77 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Koopman bearers went from 2,417 to 2,313 (-4.3% change). The surname moved up 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,766 to #12,744.
FAQ
Koopman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Koopman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,652 living Americans carry the surname Koopman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,244 residents.
How common is Koopman?
Koopman ranks #12,744 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,313 people with the surname Koopman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,652), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Koopman.
Has Koopman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Koopman went from 2,417 recorded bearers to 2,313. That is a decrease of 104 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,766 to #12,744.
What does the Census say about the background of Koopman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Koopman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Koopman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,159 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Koopman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Koopman (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 Koopman mean?
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a merchant, trader, or dealer. 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 Koopman (0.77 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 common is the surname Koopman?
Find out how common the surname Koopman is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.