Find out how popular the last name Schoeman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Schoeman.

Schoeman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Schoeman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schoeman in America

Schoeman is the 73005th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schoeman surname appeared 266 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Schoeman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schoeman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Schoeman

The surname "SCHOEMAN" originated in the Netherlands, with its earliest known instances dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "Schoen," meaning shoe, and likely referred to an occupation or trade involving shoemaking or leatherwork.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Dutch census records of 1622, which list a Willem Schoeman residing in the city of Amsterdam. Around this time, variants of the name, such as "Schouman" and "Schoemaker," were also in use.

In the 17th century, as Dutch settlers began to establish colonies in South Africa, some individuals bearing the Schoeman surname made their way to the Cape Colony. The name appears in the early records of the Dutch East India Company, which governed the Cape until the late 18th century.

A notable early bearer of the name was Jan Schoeman, born in 1685 in the Cape Colony, who served as a farmer and landowner. His descendants played a role in the Great Trek of the 1830s, when many Dutch-speaking settlers migrated inland from the Cape Colony, establishing the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.

Another prominent figure was Stephanus Petrus Schoeman (1810-1890), a Voortrekker leader and one of the founders of the town of Potchefstroom in the Transvaal. His son, Stephanus Jacobus Schoeman (1846-1915), was a prominent politician and served as the second President of the Orange Free State from 1892 to 1896.

In the 19th century, the surname Schoeman was also found in other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, likely as a result of Dutch and Afrikaner immigration. One notable bearer was Martinus Schoeman (1849-1936), a Dutch-born American clergyman and author who served as the president of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Throughout its history, the surname Schoeman has been associated with various occupations, including shoemaking, farming, politics, and religious leadership, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those who have borne this name over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schoeman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Schoeman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Schoeman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Schoeman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Schoeman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Schoeman, please contact us.

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