2000
#7,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,998
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Niemann
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made rivets or studs, derived from the Middle High German "nietman."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,620 Americans carry the last name Niemann. That puts it at #7,904 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 74,189 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Niemann 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
4.6K
1 in 74,189
Census rank
#7,904
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,029 bearers of the surname Niemann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7904th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Niemann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Niemann
The surname Niemann originates from Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Germanic words "niuw" meaning new and "mann" meaning man, suggesting the name was likely given to someone who had recently settled in a new area or town.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the town of Quedlinburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, where a Henrich Niemann was listed as a landowner in 1564. The name also appears in records from other parts of northern Germany, such as Lower Saxony and Westphalia, around the same time period.
In the 17th century, the name Niemann began to spread more widely across Germany and into neighboring regions. For example, a Johann Niemann was born in Lübeck in 1632 and later became a prominent merchant and shipping magnate, contributing to the city's thriving maritime trade.
As the centuries progressed, the Niemann name continued to be represented in various fields and professions. One notable figure was Carl Friedrich Niemann, a German sculptor born in 1834 in Groß-Bünzow, Mecklenburg. He gained recognition for his work on numerous public monuments and statues throughout Germany and Europe.
Another significant Niemann was August Niemann, a German theologian and philosopher born in 1817 in Merseburg, Saxony-Prussia. He was a prominent figure in the field of theological studies and authored several influential works on Christian ethics and philosophy.
In the 20th century, one of the most well-known individuals with the Niemann surname was the German actor and director Walter Niemann, born in 1904 in Berlin. He appeared in numerous films and stage productions during the early and mid-1900s, and his contributions to German cinema are widely recognized.
Other notable individuals with the Niemann surname include Hans-Joachim Niemann, a German politician and member of the Bundestag born in 1932, and Heinz Niemann, a German Olympic cyclist who competed in the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics.
While the Niemann name originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration and migration patterns. However, the name's deep roots and historical significance can be traced back to its Germanic origins and the meaning of "new man" or "newcomer".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Niemann
Among Census respondents with the surname Niemann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Niemann 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 Niemann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 3,746
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 132
- Two or more races2.4% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Niemann
Niemann 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
#7,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,184
+186 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 232 places
2020
#7,904
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,029
-155 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Up 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,676 | 3,998 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,908 | 4,184 | 1.42 | +186 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 232 places |
| 2020 | #7,904 | 4,029 | 1.35 | -155 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 4 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 Niemann 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 | #7,908 | #7,904 | 0.1% |
| Count | 4,184 | 4,029 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.42 | 1.35 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Niemann bearers went from 4,184 to 4,029 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,908 to #7,904.
FAQ
Niemann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Niemann?
Name Census estimates that about 4,620 living Americans carry the surname Niemann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 74,189 residents.
How common is Niemann?
Niemann ranks #7,904 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 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 4,029 people with the surname Niemann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,620), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 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 Niemann.
Has Niemann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Niemann went from 4,184 recorded bearers to 4,029. That is a decrease of 155 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,908 to #7,904.
What does the Census say about the background of Niemann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Niemann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Niemann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (3,746 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Niemann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Niemann (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 Niemann mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who made rivets or studs, derived from the Middle High German "nietman." 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 Niemann (1.35 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 Niemann?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.