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

Reisman, 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 Reisman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reisman in America

Reisman is the 13874th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reisman surname appeared 2,177 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Reisman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reisman 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 Reisman

The surname Reisman is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "riseman," which means "a giant" or "a very tall person." It is believed to have emerged as a descriptive nickname during the late medieval period, likely referring to an individual of remarkable height.

The earliest known records of the name Reisman can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of present-day Germany, particularly in the areas around the Rhine River. Historical documents from that era, such as town records and church registers, contain references to individuals bearing variations of the name, including Riseman, Reyseman, and Reissmann.

One notable historical reference to the name Reisman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 15th century. This work mentions a certain Hanns Reissmann, a landowner in the town of Spandau, near present-day Berlin.

In the 16th century, the name Reisman appeared in the records of the city of Cologne, where a merchant named Johann Reisman was documented as a member of the local guild of traders. His son, Peter Reisman (1540-1612), became a renowned scholar and educator, serving as a professor at the University of Cologne.

During the 17th century, the Reisman family gained prominence in the city of Nuremberg, where several members were involved in the flourishing printing and publishing industry. The most notable among them was Johann Georg Reisman (1628-1697), a respected printer and publisher whose works included religious texts and scholarly publications.

As the Reisman family spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Reismann, Reissmann, and Reiszmann. In the 19th century, a branch of the family settled in the Netherlands, where the name was adapted to the Dutch spelling, Reijsman.

Other notable individuals bearing the surname Reisman include:

1. Karl Reisman (1795-1864), a German composer and music theorist.
2. Theodor Reisman (1825-1892), a German-American painter and artist known for his landscape paintings.
3. Emily Reisman (1868-1954), an American social reformer and activist for women's rights.
4. Arnold Reisman (1903-1986), a Hungarian-American violinist and music educator.
5. David Reisman (born 1958), an American economist and author.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reisman

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

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 Reisman 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 Reisman 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 Reisman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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