2000
#9,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,278
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.22
Rare Last name
Osterman
An occupational surname referring to someone who raised or herded oxen or cattle in German-speaking regions.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,363 Americans carry the last name Osterman. That puts it at #10,451 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,919 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Osterman 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
3.4K
1 in 101,919
Census rank
#10,451
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,933 bearers of the surname Osterman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10451st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Osterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Osterman
The surname Osterman is of German origin, originating in the regions of Saxony and Bavaria during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German words "ost" meaning "east" and "mann" meaning "man," indicating that the name likely referred to someone who came from or lived in an eastern region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a medieval cartulary from the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in Saxony, dating back to the 9th century. This document mentions an "Ostermanni" among the list of landowners and tenants.
In the 12th century, the name Osterman appeared in the Salzburger Urskundenbuch, a collection of documents related to the Archbishopric of Salzburg in Bavaria. This suggests that the name had spread to other regions of Germany by this time.
During the 13th century, the name was recorded in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This indicates that the Osterman surname had also taken root in northern Germany.
One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Johann Osterman, a merchant from Lübeck who lived in the late 14th century. Another notable figure was Matthias Osterman, a German theologian and Protestant reformer from Saxony, who lived from 1507 to 1572.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in records from the city of Augsburg, where a family of goldsmiths and jewelers bearing the Osterman surname was prominent. One member of this family, Hans Osterman (1545-1615), was a renowned goldsmith and engraver.
As the Osterman name spread beyond Germany, it also took on variations in spelling, such as Ostermann, Ostermayer, and Ostermair, reflecting regional linguistic differences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Osterman
Among Census respondents with the surname Osterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Osterman 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 Osterman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 2,680
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 106
- Two or more races3.5% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Osterman
Osterman 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
#9,919
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,256
-22 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 770 places
2020
#10,451
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,933
-323 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 532 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,149 | 3,278 | 1.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,919 | 3,256 | 1.10 | -22 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 770 places |
| 2020 | #10,451 | 2,933 | 0.98 | -323 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 532 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 Osterman 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 | #9,919 | #10,451 | -5.4% |
| Count | 3,256 | 2,933 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.10 | 0.98 | -10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Osterman bearers went from 3,256 to 2,933 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 532 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,919 to #10,451.
FAQ
Osterman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Osterman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,363 living Americans carry the surname Osterman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,919 residents.
How common is Osterman?
Osterman ranks #10,451 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 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 2,933 people with the surname Osterman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,363), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 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 Osterman.
Has Osterman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Osterman went from 3,256 recorded bearers to 2,933. That is a decrease of 323 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,919 to #10,451.
What does the Census say about the background of Osterman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Osterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Osterman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,680 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Osterman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Osterman (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 Osterman mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who raised or herded oxen or cattle in German-speaking regions. 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 Osterman (0.98 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 are called Osterman?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Osterman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.