2000
#16,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,564
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.58
Rare Last name
Pressman
An occupational surname for someone who worked as a printer or publisher.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,350 Americans carry the last name Pressman. That puts it at #22,420 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 253,892 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pressman 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 Pressman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.4K
1 in 253,892
Census rank
#22,420
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,177 bearers of the surname Pressman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22420th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pressman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pressman
The surname Pressman has its origins in the German and Jewish Ashkenazic languages, deriving from the occupational name for a presser or someone who operated a printing press. It is believed to have emerged during the 14th century in central Europe, particularly in areas like Germany, Austria, and parts of modern-day Poland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pressman can be traced back to the early 15th century in the town of Augsburg, Germany, where a certain Hans Pressman was documented as a printer and bookbinder. This suggests that the name was already well-established by that time, likely due to the rise of the printing industry in Europe following the invention of the movable-type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century.
In the 16th century, the Pressman surname appeared in various records across German-speaking regions, including the town of Bamberg, where a certain Christoph Pressman was listed as a printer in 1568. During this period, the name was also found in areas of modern-day Poland, such as the city of Kraków, where a Jakob Pressman was recorded as a bookbinder in 1592.
As the printing industry continued to grow and spread across Europe, the Pressman name became more widely dispersed. In the 17th century, a notable individual named Isaac Pressman (1623-1683) was a renowned Hebrew printer and publisher based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, who played a significant role in the dissemination of Jewish literature.
Another notable figure was David Pressman (1760-1828), a Jewish scholar and printer from Berdichev, Ukraine, who established a successful printing house and contributed to the preservation of Jewish literary works.
In the 19th century, the Pressman surname gained prominence in various parts of Europe and beyond. One notable individual was Meyer Pressman (1815-1884), a Jewish businessman and philanthropist from Vilna, Lithuania, who made significant contributions to the local Jewish community.
As the name spread further, it was also found in different variations, such as Presser, Presser, and Pressman, reflecting the diversity of spellings and adaptations that occurred as the name traveled across regions and languages.
While the Pressman surname has its roots in the printing and publishing trades, it has since become a widespread name found among various ethnic and cultural groups, with bearers of the name contributing to various fields and professions throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pressman
Among Census respondents with the surname Pressman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Pressman 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 Pressman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 1,110
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 33
- Two or more races1.4% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 10
- Black or African American0.6% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pressman
Pressman 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
#16,909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,684
+120 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Down 107 places
2020
#22,420
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,177
-507 bearers (-30.1%)
Per 100,000 0.39
Rank movement Down 5,511 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,802 | 1,564 | 0.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,909 | 1,684 | 0.57 | +120 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 107 places |
| 2020 | #22,420 | 1,177 | 0.39 | -507 bearers (-30.1%) | Down 5,511 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 Pressman 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 | #16,909 | #22,420 | -32.6% |
| Count | 1,684 | 1,177 | -30.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.57 | 0.39 | -30.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pressman bearers went from 1,684 to 1,177 (-30.1% change). The surname moved down 5,511 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,909 to #22,420.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pressman
FAQ
Pressman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pressman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,350 living Americans carry the surname Pressman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 253,892 residents.
How common is Pressman?
Pressman ranks #22,420 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.39 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,177 people with the surname Pressman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,350), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.39 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pressman.
Has Pressman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pressman went from 1,684 recorded bearers to 1,177. That is a decrease of 507 (-30.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,909 to #22,420.
What does the Census say about the background of Pressman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pressman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Pressman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (1,110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pressman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Pressman (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 Pressman mean?
An occupational surname for someone who worked as a printer or publisher. 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 Pressman (0.39 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 are called Pressman?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Pressman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.