2000
#9,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,025
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Pearlman
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a dealer or cutter of pearls, or a jeweler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,273 Americans carry the last name Pearlman. That puts it at #10,695 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 104,722 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pearlman 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pearlman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 104,722
Census rank
#10,695
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,854 bearers of the surname Pearlman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10695th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pearlman
The surname Pearlman is a relatively modern surname that emerged in Western and Central Europe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is an Anglicized variant of the German surname "Perlmann," which is derived from the German words "Perle" meaning "pearl" and "Mann" meaning "man." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with or traded in pearls.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pearlman can be found in the records of the Jewish community in Frankfurt, Germany, where a merchant named Isaac Perlmann was documented in the late 1700s. As Jewish families began migrating from Germany to other parts of Europe and eventually to the United States, the surname likely underwent various spelling changes, leading to the emergence of the Anglicized form "Pearlman."
In the United States, one of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Pearlman was Joseph Pearlman, who was born in Poland in 1842 and immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century, settling in New York City. Another notable early bearer of the name was Samuel Pearlman, a merchant born in Russia in 1856, who became a successful businessman in Chicago in the late 19th century.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the Pearlman surname gained prominence in various fields. One notable individual was Walter Pearlman (1892-1972), an American lawyer and civil rights activist who played a significant role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States. Another well-known bearer of the name was Martin Pearlman (1898-1975), a American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Pearlman Foundation, which supported various charitable organizations.
In the realm of arts and entertainment, several individuals with the surname Pearlman have achieved recognition. These include Marty Pearlman (1927-2022), an American jazz guitarist and composer, and Louis Pearlman (1954-2016), a controversial American businessman and record producer who was instrumental in the formation of popular music groups such as Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.
While the surname Pearlman is not among the most common surnames globally, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been associated with individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, contributing to the cultural tapestry of various societies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pearlman
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Pearlman 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 Pearlman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 2,657
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 90
- Two or more races2.0% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 29
- Black or African American0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pearlman
Pearlman 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
#10,638
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,009
-16 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 782 places
2020
#10,695
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,854
-155 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,856 | 3,025 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,638 | 3,009 | 1.02 | -16 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 782 places |
| 2020 | #10,695 | 2,854 | 0.95 | -155 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 57 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 Pearlman 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 | #10,638 | #10,695 | -0.5% |
| Count | 3,009 | 2,854 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.95 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pearlman bearers went from 3,009 to 2,854 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,638 to #10,695.
FAQ
Pearlman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pearlman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,273 living Americans carry the surname Pearlman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 104,722 residents.
How common is Pearlman?
Pearlman ranks #10,695 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 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 2,854 people with the surname Pearlman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,273), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 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 Pearlman.
Has Pearlman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pearlman went from 3,009 recorded bearers to 2,854. That is a decrease of 155 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,638 to #10,695.
What does the Census say about the background of Pearlman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Pearlman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (2,657 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pearlman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Pearlman (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 Pearlman mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a dealer or cutter of pearls, or a jeweler. 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 Pearlman (0.95 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 share the surname Pearlman?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.