2000
#5,569
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,723
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.12
Rare Last name
Schuman
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a cobbler or shoemaker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,057 Americans carry the last name Schuman. That puts it at #6,209 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,588 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schuman 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
6.1K
1 in 56,588
Census rank
#6,209
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,282 bearers of the surname Schuman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6209th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schuman
The surname SCHUMAN is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "schuoch" or "schuohman," which meant a shoemaker or a cobbler. It first appeared in the 14th century in various parts of Germany, particularly in the southern regions such as Bavaria and Württemberg.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Bavarian town of Augsburg, where a certain Hans Schuman was mentioned in a tax register from the year 1385. The name was also present in the nearby city of Nuremberg, where a family of the name Schuman resided in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the SCHUMAN name spread to other parts of Europe as a result of migration and trade. Some notable examples include Johann Schuman, a German composer and organist born in Saxony in 1556, and Heinrich Schuman, a Dutch engraver and printmaker active in Amsterdam during the early 1600s.
The SCHUMAN name also appears in various historical records and manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. For instance, a certain Konrad Schuman is mentioned in a legal document from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, dated 1472.
As the centuries passed, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Schuhmann, Schuhman, and Shuman, reflecting regional dialects and scribal variations. However, the core meaning remained the same, referring to the occupation of shoemaking or cobbling.
Among the more famous bearers of the SCHUMAN surname, one can mention Robert Schuman (1886-1963), a French statesman and one of the founding fathers of the European Union. Another notable figure is Maurice Schuman (1911-1998), a French writer and political commentator born in Romania.
Other notable individuals with the SCHUMAN surname include Walter Schuman (1913-2000), an American composer and music educator; Howard Schuman (1924-2015), an American sociologist and pioneer in survey research; and Cadwallader D. Schuman (1877-1924), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schuman
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Schuman 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 Schuman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 4,817
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 163
- Two or more races2.9% · 154
- Black or African American1.1% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schuman
Schuman 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
#5,964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,770
+47 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.96
Rank movement Down 395 places
2020
#6,209
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,282
-488 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 1.77
Rank movement Down 245 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,569 | 5,723 | 2.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,964 | 5,770 | 1.96 | +47 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 395 places |
| 2020 | #6,209 | 5,282 | 1.77 | -488 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 245 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 Schuman 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 | #5,964 | #6,209 | -4.1% |
| Count | 5,770 | 5,282 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.96 | 1.77 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schuman bearers went from 5,770 to 5,282 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 245 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,964 to #6,209.
FAQ
Schuman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schuman?
Name Census estimates that about 6,057 living Americans carry the surname Schuman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,588 residents.
How common is Schuman?
Schuman ranks #6,209 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,282 people with the surname Schuman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,057), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Schuman.
Has Schuman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schuman went from 5,770 recorded bearers to 5,282. That is a decrease of 488 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,964 to #6,209.
What does the Census say about the background of Schuman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schuman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Schuman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (4,817 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schuman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Schuman (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 Schuman mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a cobbler or shoemaker. 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 Schuman (1.77 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 are called Schuman?
See how many Americans have the surname Schuman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.