2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Sahmanovic
Of Bosnian origin, likely indicating a connection to the town of Samobor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Sahmanovic. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sahmanovic 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Sahmanovic in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sahmanovic, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sahmanovic
The surname "SAHMANOVIC" is believed to have originated in the Balkans, specifically in Serbia and Montenegro, during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Serbian word "sahman," which means "innkeeper" or "tavern keeper." The suffix "-ovic" is a Slavic patronymic, indicating that the name was originally used to identify someone as the son of a sahman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the Serbian Orthodox Church, which mentions a "Radoje Sahmanovic" as a landowner in the region of Zeta (present-day Montenegro). This suggests that the Sahmanovic family may have been involved in the hospitality industry or owned taverns in the area.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Nikola Sahmanovic was a Serbian diplomat and scholar who served as an envoy to the Ottoman Empire. He was born in 1510 in the town of Dubrovnik (now in Croatia) and played a crucial role in negotiating treaties between the Serbian principalities and the Ottoman rulers.
Another prominent individual with the surname Sahmanovic was Jovan Sahmanovic, a Serbian military commander who fought against the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century. He was born in 1675 in the town of Uzice and led a successful uprising against Ottoman rule in the region.
In the 19th century, a Serbian poet and playwright named Ljubomir Sahmanovic gained recognition for his works that celebrated Serbian culture and nationalism. He was born in 1825 in the town of Kragujevac and is considered one of the pioneers of modern Serbian literature.
The name Sahmanovic can also be found in various place names throughout Serbia and Montenegro, such as the village of Sahmanovic near the town of Priboj, which was likely named after a family or individual with this surname.
While the surname Sahmanovic is not as common today as it was in the past, it remains a part of the rich cultural heritage of the Balkans, reflecting the region's history and the various occupations and roles its ancestors played in shaping the region's identity.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sahmanovic
Among Census respondents with the surname Sahmanovic, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Sahmanovic 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 Sahmanovic surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 109
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sahmanovic
Sahmanovic 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
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+6 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,029 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.8%) | Up 7,029 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 Sahmanovic 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 | #157,234 | #150,205 | 4.5% |
| Count | 103 | 109 | 5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 21.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sahmanovic bearers went from 103 to 109 (+5.8% change). The surname moved up 7,029 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #150,205.
FAQ
Sahmanovic surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sahmanovic?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Sahmanovic. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Sahmanovic?
Sahmanovic ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Sahmanovic. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Sahmanovic.
Has Sahmanovic become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sahmanovic went from 103 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 6 (+5.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Sahmanovic?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sahmanovic, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Sahmanovic in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sahmanovic appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Sahmanovic (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 Sahmanovic mean?
Of Bosnian origin, likely indicating a connection to the town of Samobor. 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 Sahmanovic (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 Sahmanovic?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Sahmanovic on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.