Find out how popular the last name Perelman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Perelman.

Perelman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Perelman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Perelman in America

Perelman is the 34801st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Perelman surname appeared 649 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Perelman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Perelman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Perelman

The surname Perelman has its origins in the Russian language, derived from the word "peregon," which means "to drive" or "to chase." It is believed to have emerged in the 14th or 15th century in regions of modern-day Russia and Ukraine.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Perelman name can be found in the Velvet Book, a collection of documents from the Grand Duchy of Moscow, dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to have initially referred to individuals involved in herding or driving livestock.

In the 17th century, the Perelman surname appeared in various historical records, including tax registers and court documents, particularly in the areas around Moscow and Kiev. During this period, the name may have also been associated with individuals who worked as coachmen or drivers for aristocratic families.

A notable figure bearing the Perelman surname was Grigory Perelman, a Russian mathematician born in 1966, who is renowned for his groundbreaking work on the Poincaré conjecture. His proof, published in 2002 and 2003, earned him the prestigious Fields Medal, although he declined to accept the award.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Yakov Perelman, a Russian author and physicist born in 1882. He is celebrated for his popular science books, which aimed to make complex scientific concepts accessible to a wider audience.

In the 19th century, the Perelman name appeared in various records across Eastern Europe, including Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine. One notable example is Chaim Perelman, a Polish-Belgian philosopher and logician born in 1912, who made significant contributions to the study of rhetoric and argumentation theory.

The Perelman surname can also be traced back to Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, where it may have originated as a variant of the Hebrew name "Perel" or "Perl," meaning "pearl."

Throughout history, the Perelman name has been associated with individuals from diverse fields, including mathematics, science, philosophy, and literature, reflecting the versatility and adaptability of this surname across various cultures and regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Perelman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Perelman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Perelman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Perelman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Perelman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Perelman, please contact us.

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