2000
#68,172
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 270
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Schoolman
A surname denoting a teacher or person associated with a school.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 318 Americans carry the last name Schoolman. That puts it at #75,111 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,077,844 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schoolman 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
318
1 in 1,077,844
Census rank
#75,111
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
277
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 277 bearers of the surname Schoolman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 75111th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoolman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schoolman
The surname Schoolman originated in medieval Germany, likely emerging in the late 13th or early 14th century. It is derived from the Middle High German words "schuole" meaning "school" and "man" meaning "man". Thus, the name refers to a person who worked at or attended a school, perhaps a teacher, student, or administrator.
The earliest known recorded mention of the name appears in a 1387 document from the town of Nuremberg, which refers to a man named "Hans Schulemannes". This suggests the name was already established in that region by the late 14th century. Variations in spelling during this period included Schuleman, Schulman, and Schollman.
In the 15th century, the name can be found in records from various parts of southern Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. It appears in the town chronicles of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1459, referring to a family surnamed Schulemannen.
One of the earliest notable individuals with this surname was Johannes Schoolman, a scholar and theologian born in Augsburg around 1430. He studied at the University of Vienna and later taught at the University of Ingolstadt, becoming known for his work on logic and philosophy.
Another early bearer of the name was Matthias Schoolman, a Protestant reformer born in Nuremberg in 1498. He was a follower of Martin Luther and helped spread the Reformation in Franconia and Bavaria.
In the 16th century, the name began to spread beyond Germany, with records showing individuals surnamed Schoolman in the Netherlands and England. A merchant named Hendrick Schoolman is mentioned in Dutch trading records from Amsterdam in 1572.
In England, the first recorded use of the name is found in the parish registers of St. Mary's Church in Warwick, which mention the baptism of a child named William Schoolman in 1587. This suggests the name had been adopted by English families by the late 16th century, likely through migration or trade connections with Germany.
Other notable bearers of the Schoolman surname include:
- Johann Schoolman (1622-1688), a German composer and organist from Leipzig.
- Pieter Schoolman (1732-1804), a Dutch painter known for his landscapes and still lifes.
- Wilhelm Schoolman (1846-1918), a German industrialist who founded the Schoolman Steel Company in Dortmund.
- Margarethe Schoolman (1856-1931), a German writer and feminist activist from Berlin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schoolman
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoolman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Schoolman 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 Schoolman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 256
- Two or more races2.2% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 5
- Black or African American1.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schoolman
Schoolman 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
#69,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 280
+10 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 1,824 places
2020
#75,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 277
-3 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 5,115 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #68,172 | 270 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #69,996 | 280 | 0.09 | +10 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 1,824 places |
| 2020 | #75,111 | 277 | 0.09 | -3 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 5,115 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 Schoolman 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 | #69,996 | #75,111 | -7.3% |
| Count | 280 | 277 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.09 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schoolman bearers went from 280 to 277 (-1.1% change). The surname moved down 5,115 positions in the national ranking, going from #69,996 to #75,111.
FAQ
Schoolman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schoolman?
Name Census estimates that about 318 living Americans carry the surname Schoolman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,077,844 residents.
How common is Schoolman?
Schoolman ranks #75,111 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 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 277 people with the surname Schoolman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (318), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 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 Schoolman.
Has Schoolman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schoolman went from 280 recorded bearers to 277. That is a decrease of 3 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #69,996 to #75,111.
What does the Census say about the background of Schoolman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schoolman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Schoolman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (256 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schoolman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (2.2%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Schoolman (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 Schoolman mean?
A surname denoting a teacher or person associated with a school. 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 Schoolman (0.09 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 surname Schoolman?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.