2000
#10,527
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,796
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Pearman
An occupational surname referring to a pear grower or seller of pears.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,015 Americans carry the last name Pearman. That puts it at #11,463 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,683 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pearman 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 Pearman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,683
Census rank
#11,463
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,629 bearers of the surname Pearman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11463rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearman, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pearman
The surname Pearman is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "pere" meaning pear and "mann" meaning man. It likely originated as an occupational surname for someone who grew or sold pears, or perhaps worked in an orchard cultivating pear trees.
The name first appeared in historical records in the late 12th century, with one of the earliest examples being Robert le Perman, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1197. Variants of the spelling at the time included Pereman, Perman, and Perreman.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was found scattered across various counties in England, including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Gloucestershire. It is possible that some instances of the name were derived from place names containing the word "pear," such as Perton in Staffordshire or Pershore in Worcestershire.
One notable figure with this surname was John Pearman, a member of the English Parliament who represented Gloucestershire in 1340. Another was Thomas Pearman, a wealthy landowner from Buckinghamshire who lived during the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the Pearman family was well-established in the county of Norfolk, with records showing several members holding positions of prominence within the local community. One such individual was William Pearman, who served as a churchwarden in the village of Salle in the 1570s.
As the centuries progressed, the Pearman surname continued to be found throughout various regions of England, with individuals bearing the name leaving their mark in various fields. For example, in the 18th century, there was a renowned architect named John Pearman who designed several notable buildings in London.
Other notable individuals with this surname include Sir Richard Pearman, a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century, and Robert Pearman, a Victorian-era painter whose works were displayed at the Royal Academy in the late 1800s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pearman
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearman, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Pearman 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 Pearman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 2,098
- Black or African American8.2% · 215
- Two or more races5.1% · 134
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 108
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pearman
Pearman 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
#10,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,910
+114 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 415 places
2020
#11,463
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,629
-281 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 521 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,527 | 2,796 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,942 | 2,910 | 0.99 | +114 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 415 places |
| 2020 | #11,463 | 2,629 | 0.88 | -281 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 521 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 Pearman 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 | #10,942 | #11,463 | -4.8% |
| Count | 2,910 | 2,629 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.88 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pearman bearers went from 2,910 to 2,629 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 521 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,942 to #11,463.
FAQ
Pearman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pearman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,015 living Americans carry the surname Pearman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,683 residents.
How common is Pearman?
Pearman ranks #11,463 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,629 people with the surname Pearman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,015), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Pearman.
Has Pearman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pearman went from 2,910 recorded bearers to 2,629. That is a decrease of 281 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,942 to #11,463.
What does the Census say about the background of Pearman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pearman, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.2%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Pearman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (2,098 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pearman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Black (8.2%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Pearman (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 Pearman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a pear grower or seller of pears. 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 Pearman (0.88 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 surname Pearman?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.