2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Purman
An occupational surname related to a craftsman who made or sold pelts or furs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Purman. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Purman 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Purman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Purman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Purman
The surname PURMAN is of Anglo-Saxon origin, deriving from the Old English words "pur" and "mann", which together translate to "purr man" or "man from the town of Pury". The name first emerged in the southern counties of England, particularly in the regions of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, around the 11th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a certain William Purman is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Purytone, now known as Pyrton in Oxfordshire. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various medieval records, such as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a John Purman is listed as residing in Oxfordshire. During this period, the surname was also spelled as Purmand, Purmond, and Purmund, reflecting the evolving nature of English spelling and pronunciation.
One notable bearer of the PURMAN name was Sir Thomas Purman, a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in the late 15th century (c. 1440-1509). Another distinguished individual was John Purman (c. 1560-1628), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Norwich.
In the 17th century, the PURMAN surname spread to other parts of England, with records showing families of this name settling in counties like Lancashire and Yorkshire. One significant figure from this era was Richard Purman (c. 1610-1680), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London.
Moving into the 18th century, the surname continued to be found across various regions of England, with notable individuals including Samuel Purman (1696-1768), a renowned clockmaker and inventor from London, and William Purman (1725-1799), a successful businessman and landowner in Gloucestershire.
Throughout its history, the PURMAN surname has been associated with various place names, such as Purton in Wiltshire, Perton in Staffordshire, and Pyrton in Oxfordshire, all of which share similarities with the Old English root "pur" or "pury".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Purman
Among Census respondents with the surname Purman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Purman 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 Purman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 95
- Two or more races3.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Purman
Purman appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,705 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Up 3,705 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 Purman 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 | #156,044 | #152,339 | 2.4% |
| Count | 104 | 106 | 1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Purman bearers went from 104 to 106 (+1.9% change). The surname moved up 3,705 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #152,339.
FAQ
Purman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Purman?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Purman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Purman?
Purman ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Purman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Purman.
Has Purman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Purman went from 104 recorded bearers to 106. That is an increase of 2 (+1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Purman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Purman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Purman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Purman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Purman (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 Purman mean?
An occupational surname related to a craftsman who made or sold pelts or furs. 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 Purman (0.04 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 Purman?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Purman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.