2000
#3,857
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,461
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.14
Rare Last name
Peterman
An occupational surname referring to a peddler, trader, or someone who works with saltpeter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,951 Americans carry the last name Peterman. That puts it at #4,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,292 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Peterman 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
9.0K
1 in 38,292
Census rank
#4,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,806 bearers of the surname Peterman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Peterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Peterman
The surname Peterman is of German origin, derived from the personal name Peter and the occupational term "man," meaning a person or servant. It is believed to have emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century, in various regions of present-day Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Peterman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 14th century. The name is mentioned in reference to a certain "Peterman von Halberstadt," suggesting its presence in the region of Saxony-Anhalt.
By the 16th century, the Peterman surname had spread across various German-speaking territories, including Bavaria, Prussia, and the Rhineland. Notable individuals bearing this name include Johann Peterman (1535-1592), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony, and Hans Peterman (1571-1642), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Nuremberg.
In the 17th century, the Peterman name appeared in various church records and municipal documents across Germany, reflecting its widespread use. One notable figure was Matthias Peterman (1617-1687), a German composer and organist from Thuringia.
As German immigrants began to settle in North America during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Peterman surname was introduced to the New World. One of the earliest known bearers of this name in the United States was Johann Georg Peterman (1743-1819), a Hessian soldier who settled in Pennsylvania after the American Revolutionary War.
Throughout the 19th century, several individuals with the Peterman surname made notable contributions in various fields. These include Jacob Peterman (1812-1886), a prominent businessman and politician in Ohio, and Andrew Peterman (1833-1913), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
In more recent history, the Peterman name has been associated with several influential figures, such as the American explorer and writer Hiram Bingham III (1875-1956), who was also known as Hiram Bingham Peterman, and the American writer and editor Millard Peterman (1903-1986), known for his contributions to the science fiction genre.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Peterman
Among Census respondents with the surname Peterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Peterman 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 Peterman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.8% · 6,851
- Black or African American4.5% · 352
- Two or more races3.5% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 198
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 60
Timeline
Historical Census data for Peterman
Peterman 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
#4,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,690
+229 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 2.95
Rank movement Down 230 places
2020
#4,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,806
-884 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Down 318 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,857 | 8,461 | 3.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,087 | 8,690 | 2.95 | +229 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 230 places |
| 2020 | #4,405 | 7,806 | 2.61 | -884 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 318 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 Peterman 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 | #4,087 | #4,405 | -7.8% |
| Count | 8,690 | 7,806 | -10.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.95 | 2.61 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Peterman bearers went from 8,690 to 7,806 (-10.2% change). The surname moved down 318 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,087 to #4,405.
FAQ
Peterman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Peterman?
Name Census estimates that about 8,951 living Americans carry the surname Peterman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,292 residents.
How common is Peterman?
Peterman ranks #4,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.61 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 7,806 people with the surname Peterman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,951), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.61 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 Peterman.
Has Peterman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Peterman went from 8,690 recorded bearers to 7,806. That is a decrease of 884 (-10.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,087 to #4,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Peterman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Peterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) 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 Peterman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (6,851 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Peterman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.8%), Black (4.5%), 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 Peterman (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 Peterman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a peddler, trader, or someone who works with saltpeter. 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 Peterman (2.61 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 Peterman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.