2000
#13,925
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,987
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Reisman
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the Middle High German "riseman," meaning a traveler or messenger.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,113 Americans carry the last name Reisman. That puts it at #15,331 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,212 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reisman 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
2.1K
1 in 162,212
Census rank
#15,331
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,843 bearers of the surname Reisman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15331st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reisman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 Historical documents from that era, such as town records and church registers, contain references to individuals bearing variations of the name, including Riseman, Reyseman, and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One notable historical reference to the name Reisman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reisman
Among Census respondents with the surname Reisman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Reisman 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 Reisman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 1,734
- Two or more races2.7% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reisman
Reisman 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
#13,874
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,177
+190 bearers (+9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 51 places
2020
#15,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,843
-334 bearers (-15.3%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 1,457 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,925 | 1,987 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,874 | 2,177 | 0.74 | +190 bearers (+9.6%) | Up 51 places |
| 2020 | #15,331 | 1,843 | 0.62 | -334 bearers (-15.3%) | Down 1,457 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 Reisman 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 | #13,874 | #15,331 | -10.5% |
| Count | 2,177 | 1,843 | -15.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.62 | -16.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reisman bearers went from 2,177 to 1,843 (-15.3% change). The surname moved down 1,457 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,874 to #15,331.
FAQ
Reisman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reisman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,113 living Americans carry the surname Reisman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,212 residents.
How common is Reisman?
Reisman ranks #15,331 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,843 people with the surname Reisman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,113), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Reisman.
Has Reisman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reisman went from 2,177 recorded bearers to 1,843. That is a decrease of 334 (-15.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,874 to #15,331.
What does the Census say about the background of Reisman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reisman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Reisman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (1,734 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reisman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Reisman (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 Reisman mean?
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the Middle High German "riseman," meaning a traveler or messenger. 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 Reisman (0.62 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 Reisman?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Reisman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.