2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Schafman
A German occupational surname referring to a shepherd or sheep herder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Schafman. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schafman 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Schafman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schafman
The surname Schafman is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German words "schaf" meaning sheep and "man" meaning man. It likely originated in the 13th or 14th century as a descriptive surname for someone who tended or herded sheep.
The name Schafman was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where sheep farming was a common occupation. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in municipal records and church registries from towns in these areas.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Hans Schafman was a sheep farmer and local official in the town of Bamberg, Bavaria. His name appears in tax records and land deeds from that time.
The Schafman surname can also be found in variations such as Schaffmann, Schaffman, and Schafemann, reflecting regional spelling differences. These variations often appeared interchangeably in historical documents.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Schafmann, born in 1512 in Nuremberg, who was a respected wool merchant and guild member. His family's coat of arms featured a sheep, a nod to the surname's occupational origins.
In the 17th century, a notable Schafman was Andreas Schafman, a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Saxony. He authored several religious texts and served as a rector at the University of Leipzig.
Another significant figure was Gottfried Schafman, born in 1672 in Dresden, who was a renowned clockmaker and inventor. His intricate mechanical clocks were highly sought after by European nobility.
The name Schafman has also been linked to various place names over the centuries, such as Schafmanndorf (literally "Schafman village") in Bavaria, reflecting the occupational roots of the surname.
While not as common today, the Schafman surname persists as a testament to the rich history and heritage of sheep farming in Germanic regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schafman
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Schafman 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 Schafman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 104
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schafman
Schafman 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,356 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,361 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 10,356 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 10,361 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 Schafman 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 | #138,304 | #148,665 | -7.5% |
| Count | 121 | 111 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schafman bearers went from 121 to 111 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 10,361 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #148,665.
FAQ
Schafman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schafman?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Schafman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Schafman?
Schafman ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Schafman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Schafman.
Has Schafman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schafman went from 121 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Schafman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Schafman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schafman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Schafman (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 Schafman mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a shepherd or sheep herder. 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 Schafman (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 have the last name Schafman?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Schafman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.