2000
#3,638
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,974
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.33
Uncommon Last name
Perryman
An occupational surname referring to a pear orchard keeper or someone living near a pear tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,317 Americans carry the last name Perryman. That puts it at #3,843 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 33,222 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Perryman 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 Perryman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
10K
1 in 33,222
Census rank
#3,843
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.0K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,997 bearers of the surname Perryman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3843rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Perryman, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Perryman
The surname Perryman has its origins in England, where it first emerged in the 13th century. It is derived from the Old French words 'piere' meaning stone and 'homme' meaning man, referring to someone who worked as a stonemason or lived near a prominent stone structure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where a William Perereman is mentioned. The name also appears in various other medieval records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301, which lists a Robert Perreman.
The Perryman surname is closely linked to several place names in England, particularly those containing the element 'stone' or 'rock.' For instance, the village of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, was once known as 'Perynnanhyve,' suggesting a connection to the surname.
In the 16th century, the name was sometimes spelled as 'Perriman' or 'Peryman,' reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling common during that era. One notable bearer of the name was John Perryman, a prominent merchant and landowner in Gloucestershire, who lived from circa 1550 to 1620.
During the English Civil War (1642-1651), a Captain Edward Perryman served in the Parliamentarian forces and was involved in several key battles, including the Siege of Reading in 1643.
In the 18th century, the Perryman family had a strong presence in the county of Somerset, where they owned several estates and manors. One member of this branch, William Perryman (1725-1795), was a renowned agriculturist and author of several treatises on farming practices.
Another notable figure was Sir John Perryman (1756-1831), a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars and was knighted for his services in 1815.
The Perryman surname also has a strong association with the United States, where many families of English descent bearing this name settled in the colonial era. One early American bearer was William Perryman (1688-1745), who emigrated from Gloucestershire and became a prominent landowner and community leader in Virginia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Perryman
Among Census respondents with the surname Perryman, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Perryman 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 Perryman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.9% · 5,208
- Black or African American29.8% · 2,685
- Two or more races5.9% · 528
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 427
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Perryman
Perryman 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
#3,748
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,443
+469 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 3.20
Rank movement Down 110 places
2020
#3,843
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,997
-446 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 3.01
Rank movement Down 95 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,638 | 8,974 | 3.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,748 | 9,443 | 3.20 | +469 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 110 places |
| 2020 | #3,843 | 8,997 | 3.01 | -446 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 95 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 Perryman 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 | #3,748 | #3,843 | -2.5% |
| Count | 9,443 | 8,997 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.20 | 3.01 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Perryman bearers went from 9,443 to 8,997 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 95 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,748 to #3,843.
FAQ
Perryman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Perryman?
Name Census estimates that about 10,317 living Americans carry the surname Perryman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 33,222 residents.
How common is Perryman?
Perryman ranks #3,843 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,997 people with the surname Perryman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,317), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Perryman.
Has Perryman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Perryman went from 9,443 recorded bearers to 8,997. That is a decrease of 446 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,748 to #3,843.
What does the Census say about the background of Perryman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Perryman, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.9%. The next largest groups are Black (29.8%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Perryman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (5,208 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Perryman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.9%), Black (29.8%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Perryman (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 Perryman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a pear orchard keeper or someone living near a pear tree. 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 Perryman (3.01 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 Perryman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.