2000
#10,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,673
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Lederman
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a dealer or manufacturer of leather goods.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,546 Americans carry the last name Lederman. That puts it at #13,189 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,625 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lederman 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
2.5K
1 in 134,625
Census rank
#13,189
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,220 bearers of the surname Lederman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13189th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lederman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lederman
The surname Lederman is of German origin, and it first emerged in the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German word "Leder," which means "leather," and "Mann," which means "man." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who worked with leather, such as a tanner or a shoemaker.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Lederman can be traced back to the 14th century, when it appeared in various German regions. In the 15th century, the name is mentioned in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a family of tanners bearing the name Lederman resided.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Lederman was Hans Lederman, a merchant who lived in the German city of Augsburg in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Johann Lederman, a Protestant reformer who lived in the 16th century and was known for his writings on theology.
In the 17th century, the name Lederman appeared in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled slightly differently, such as "Ledderman" or "Leddermar."
As the centuries passed, the Lederman surname spread beyond Germany to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One prominent bearer of the name was Max Lederman (1890-1971), an Austrian-born American mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of general relativity.
Other notable individuals with the surname Lederman include Victor Lederman (1924-2018), an American experimental physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988 for his work on the discovery of the muon neutrino. Additionally, there was Mordecai Lederman (1886-1975), a Polish-born American Jewish scholar and author who wrote extensively about Jewish history and culture.
While the surname Lederman has its roots in Germany and originally referred to those involved in the leather trade, it has since become more widespread and embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and professions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lederman
Among Census respondents with the surname Lederman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lederman 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 Lederman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 2,020
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 111
- Two or more races2.5% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 21
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lederman
Lederman 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
#11,914
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,628
-45 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 991 places
2020
#13,189
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,220
-408 bearers (-15.5%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,275 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,923 | 2,673 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,914 | 2,628 | 0.89 | -45 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 991 places |
| 2020 | #13,189 | 2,220 | 0.74 | -408 bearers (-15.5%) | Down 1,275 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 Lederman 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 | #11,914 | #13,189 | -10.7% |
| Count | 2,628 | 2,220 | -15.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.74 | -16.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lederman bearers went from 2,628 to 2,220 (-15.5% change). The surname moved down 1,275 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,914 to #13,189.
FAQ
Lederman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lederman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,546 living Americans carry the surname Lederman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,625 residents.
How common is Lederman?
Lederman ranks #13,189 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,220 people with the surname Lederman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,546), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Lederman.
Has Lederman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lederman went from 2,628 recorded bearers to 2,220. That is a decrease of 408 (-15.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,914 to #13,189.
What does the Census say about the background of Lederman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lederman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Lederman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (2,020 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lederman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Lederman (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 Lederman mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a dealer or manufacturer of leather goods. 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 Lederman (0.74 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 Lederman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.