2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Morsman
An English surname derived from the Old French words "mors" meaning "biting" and "-man" referring to an occupation involved with training horses or equine-related work.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Morsman. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morsman 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Morsman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morsman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Morsman
The surname Morsman is believed to have originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "mors," which means "marsh" or "swamp," and "mann," meaning "man." This suggests that the name initially referred to someone who lived near or worked in a marshy area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Morsman can be found in the town of Dortmund, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1574, a man named Hans Morsman is listed in local records as a landowner and farmer.
As the name spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, various spellings emerged, including Morssmann, Morsseman, and Morssmann. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and differences in pronunciation.
In the 17th century, the Morsman name appears in several historical documents related to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which ravaged much of Central Europe. A notable figure from this period is Johann Morsman, a soldier from Bavaria who fought for the Protestant forces. He was born around 1610 and is believed to have perished during the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634.
As people began emigrating from Europe to the Americas in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Morsman surname made its way across the Atlantic. One of the earliest recorded instances in the United States is that of Johann Heinrich Morsman, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1753 from the German Palatinate region.
Another prominent individual bearing the Morsman name was Wilhelm Morsman, a German-born industrialist who lived from 1827 to 1901. He founded the Morsman Machine Company in Dresden, which manufactured textile machinery and played a significant role in the region's industrial development.
In the United Kingdom, the Morsman name can be traced back to the late 18th century, with records showing a family residing in the county of Yorkshire. One notable figure was Robert Morsman, born in 1795, who served as a member of the British Parliament for the constituency of Bradford from 1857 to 1865.
While the Morsman surname is not among the most common in the world, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and multiple countries. Its origins can be traced back to the marshy regions of Germany, and it has since been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including soldiers, industrialists, and politicians.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morsman
Among Census respondents with the surname Morsman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Morsman 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 Morsman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 103
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morsman
Morsman 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
#126,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
+33 bearers (+32.4%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 21,479 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-20 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,992 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,765 | 135 | 0.05 | +33 bearers (+32.4%) | Up 21,479 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 18,992 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 Morsman 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 | #126,765 | #145,757 | -15.0% |
| Count | 135 | 115 | -14.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -23.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morsman bearers went from 135 to 115 (-14.8% change). The surname moved down 18,992 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,765 to #145,757.
FAQ
Morsman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morsman?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Morsman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Morsman?
Morsman ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Morsman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Morsman.
Has Morsman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morsman went from 135 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 20 (-14.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,765 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Morsman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morsman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Morsman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morsman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Morsman (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 Morsman mean?
An English surname derived from the Old French words "mors" meaning "biting" and "-man" referring to an occupation involved with training horses or equine-related work. 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 Morsman (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 many people have the last name Morsman?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Morsman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.