2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Liman
A surname derived from the French word "limon" meaning lime or loam, possibly referring to someone who worked with lime or lived near a lime quarry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 144 Americans carry the last name Liman. That puts it at #137,553 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,380,238 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Liman 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
144
1 in 2,380,238
Census rank
#137,553
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
126
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 126 bearers of the surname Liman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 137553rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Liman, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.3%) and Hispanic (9.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Liman
The surname LIMAN has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the early 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "limu," meaning "mud" or "clay," suggesting that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a muddy or clayey area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LIMAN surname can be found in the historic town records of Augsburg, Bavaria, dating back to 1532. These records mention a certain Hans Liman, a tradesman who resided in the city's district of St. Jakob.
In the 17th century, the LIMAN name appeared in various church registers and local chronicles across southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Some notable examples include Johann Liman (1612-1679), a respected magistrate in the town of Ulm, and Katharina Liman (1638-1701), a midwife from the village of Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
As the LIMAN family spread across Germany, the name underwent minor spelling variations, such as Limmann and Liemann, which were common in northern regions like Saxony and Brandenburg.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LIMAN name outside of Germany can be found in the Netherlands, where a certain Pieter Liman (1670-1742) was a renowned merchant and shipowner based in Amsterdam.
In the 19th century, the LIMAN surname gained further prominence with the birth of Fyodor Liman (1835-1918), a Russian military commander who played a significant role in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
Another notable figure bearing the LIMAN name was Artur Liman (1868-1932), a German lawyer and politician who served as the last Imperial Minister of Justice in the German Empire from 1918 to 1919.
The LIMAN surname has also been associated with several prominent academics and scientists, such as the German mathematician Karl Liman (1874-1952) and the Austrian-American biologist Caspar Liman (1893-1969), who made significant contributions to the field of cytogenetics.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Liman
Among Census respondents with the surname Liman, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.3%) and Hispanic (9.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Liman 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 Liman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.0% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander37.3% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 12
- Black or African American6.3% · 8
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Liman
Liman 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+7 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,393 places
2020
#137,553
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
+10 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,596 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 2,393 places |
| 2020 | #137,553 | 126 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 5,596 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 Liman 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 | #143,149 | #137,553 | 3.9% |
| Count | 116 | 126 | 8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Liman bearers went from 116 to 126 (+8.6% change). The surname moved up 5,596 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #137,553.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Liman
FAQ
Liman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Liman?
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the surname Liman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,380,238 residents.
How common is Liman?
Liman ranks #137,553 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 126 people with the surname Liman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (144), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Liman.
Has Liman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Liman went from 116 recorded bearers to 126. That is an increase of 10 (+8.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #143,149 to #137,553.
What does the Census say about the background of Liman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Liman, the largest self-reported group is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.3%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Liman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (58 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Liman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (46.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (37.3%), Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Liman (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 Liman mean?
A surname derived from the French word "limon" meaning lime or loam, possibly referring to someone who worked with lime or lived near a lime quarry. 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 Liman (0.04 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 Liman?
See how many people are called Liman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.