2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schlaman
A German surname possibly derived from a location or descriptive nickname.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Schlaman. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schlaman 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Schlaman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schlaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schlaman
The surname SCHLAMAN has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Low German word 'schlamm', which translates to 'mud' or 'sludge', possibly indicating that the name was initially associated with individuals who lived near or worked in muddy areas or marshlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SCHLAMAN can be found in the parish records of the town of Gartow, located in present-day Lower Saxony, Germany, where a certain Johann SCHLAMAN was listed as a resident in 1598. This suggests that the name was already in use and somewhat established in that region during the late Renaissance period.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the SCHLAMAN surname began to spread across various parts of northern Germany, particularly in the areas around the cities of Hamburg and Bremen. It is plausible that the name was also influenced by or derived from local place names containing similar root words, such as the village of Schlamau in Saxony-Anhalt or the town of Schlamersdorf in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Notable individuals bearing the SCHLAMAN surname throughout history include Johann SCHLAMAN (1675-1743), a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Lüneburg, and Heinrich SCHLAMAN (1798-1872), a respected Lutheran theologian and author from Hanover. Other notable SCHLAMANS include Wilhelm SCHLAMAN (1842-1912), a German-American inventor and industrialist who made significant contributions to the development of early refrigeration technologies, and Gertrud SCHLAMAN (1909-1986), a renowned German opera singer who performed extensively throughout Europe in the mid-20th century.
The SCHLAMAN name also found its way into historical records and documents in other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands and Scandinavia, likely due to migration patterns and trade connections. For instance, there are records of a Jacob SCHLAMAN being a merchant in Amsterdam in the late 17th century, while a family by the name of SCHLAMAN is documented as having settled in the Swedish province of Skåne in the early 1800s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schlaman
Among Census respondents with the surname Schlaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Schlaman 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 Schlaman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 90
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
- Black or African American3.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schlaman
Schlaman 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+6 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,385 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-16 bearers (-13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 11,864 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 3,385 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -16 bearers (-13.9%) | Down 11,864 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 Schlaman 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 | #144,141 | #156,005 | -8.2% |
| Count | 115 | 99 | -13.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schlaman bearers went from 115 to 99 (-13.9% change). The surname moved down 11,864 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #156,005.
FAQ
Schlaman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schlaman?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Schlaman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Schlaman?
Schlaman ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Schlaman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Schlaman.
Has Schlaman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schlaman went from 115 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 16 (-13.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Schlaman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schlaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.0%). 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 Schlaman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schlaman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Black (3.0%). 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 Schlaman (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 Schlaman mean?
A German surname possibly derived from a location or descriptive nickname. 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 Schlaman (0.03 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 Schlaman?
You can see how many people are called Schlaman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.