2000
#8,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,524
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Salzman
A Jewish occupational surname referring to someone who sold or traded salt.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,869 Americans carry the last name Salzman. That puts it at #9,261 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 88,590 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salzman 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
3.9K
1 in 88,590
Census rank
#9,261
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,374 bearers of the surname Salzman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9261st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salzman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salzman
The surname Salzman is of German origin, emerging in the medieval period around the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Salz," meaning salt, and the suffix "man," indicating a person or occupation. This suggests that the name may have been initially borne by individuals involved in the salt trade or salt production.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Salzman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in connection with various locations and individuals within the region.
The Salzman surname is also linked to several place names in Germany, such as Salzmannshausen, a village in the state of Hesse, and Salzmannshof, a farmstead in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the Salzman surname who resided or held influence in those areas.
Among notable historical figures with the Salzman surname, one can cite Johannes Salzmann (1559-1623), a German theologian and author of the Reformation era, and Jakob Salzmann (1718-1772), a German Pietist and founder of the Salzmann Community in Pennsylvania, USA.
In the realm of literature, the name Salzman is associated with Adolph Salzmann (1859-1908), an Austrian writer and journalist known for his works depicting life in Vienna during the late 19th century.
Another noteworthy individual is Erich Salzmann (1886-1944), a German architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the development of modern housing projects and urban planning concepts in the early 20th century.
The Salzman surname has also been historically present in other European countries, including the Netherlands and Switzerland, likely due to migration patterns and the spread of the salt trade across regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salzman
Among Census respondents with the surname Salzman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Salzman 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 Salzman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 3,128
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 106
- Two or more races2.3% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 16
- Black or African American0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salzman
Salzman 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
#9,267
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,513
-11 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 669 places
2020
#9,261
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,374
-139 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,598 | 3,524 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,267 | 3,513 | 1.19 | -11 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 669 places |
| 2020 | #9,261 | 3,374 | 1.13 | -139 bearers (-4.0%) | Up 6 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 Salzman 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 | #9,267 | #9,261 | 0.1% |
| Count | 3,513 | 3,374 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.13 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salzman bearers went from 3,513 to 3,374 (-4.0% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,267 to #9,261.
FAQ
Salzman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salzman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,869 living Americans carry the surname Salzman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 88,590 residents.
How common is Salzman?
Salzman ranks #9,261 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.13 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 3,374 people with the surname Salzman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,869), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.13 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 Salzman.
Has Salzman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salzman went from 3,513 recorded bearers to 3,374. That is a decrease of 139 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,267 to #9,261.
What does the Census say about the background of Salzman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salzman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Salzman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (3,128 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salzman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Salzman (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 Salzman mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to someone who sold or traded salt. 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 Salzman (1.13 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 share the surname Salzman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.