2000
#7,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.52
Rare Last name
Shulman
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a synagogue sexton or caretaker, derived from the Hebrew word "shul" for synagogue.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,306 Americans carry the last name Shulman. That puts it at #8,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,599 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shulman 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Shulman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 79,599
Census rank
#8,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,755 bearers of the surname Shulman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shulman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shulman
The surname Shulman is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, deriving from the Yiddish term "shul," which translates to "synagogue" or "school." The name first emerged in the 14th century in the regions of modern-day Germany and Poland, where Jewish communities had established themselves.
In the early days, the name Shulman likely referred to individuals who worked or held positions within synagogues or religious schools. It could have been used to identify rabbis, teachers, or other officials associated with these institutions. Over time, the name became hereditary, passing down from generation to generation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Shulman name can be found in the Memorbuch, a record book maintained by the Jewish community in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In this document, dated 1349, a man named Abraham Shulman is mentioned as having donated funds to the local synagogue.
During the Middle Ages, the name also appeared in various legal documents and tax records across Central and Eastern Europe. For instance, in the 16th century, a merchant named Isaac Shulman is mentioned in the archives of the city of Krakow, Poland.
As the Jewish diaspora spread across Europe and beyond, the Shulman name traveled with them. In the 18th century, a prominent rabbi and scholar named Yitzchak Shulman (1725-1802) lived in Vilna, Lithuania, and authored several influential works on Jewish law and philosophy.
In the 19th century, the Shulman name gained further prominence with the birth of Solomon Shulman (1832-1904), a Russian-born Jewish banker and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the establishment of educational institutions in Odessa and St. Petersburg.
Another notable figure was David Shulman (1864-1935), a Polish-born American businessman and real estate developer who played a crucial role in the early development of Los Angeles, California.
During the 20th century, the Shulman name continued to be carried by individuals across various fields, including the American architect and photographer Julius Shulman (1910-2009), known for his iconic images of modernist architecture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shulman
Among Census respondents with the surname Shulman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Shulman 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 Shulman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 3,534
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 83
- Two or more races1.8% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 36
- Black or African American0.9% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shulman
Shulman 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
#8,076
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,104
-1 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 594 places
2020
#8,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,755
-349 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 370 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,482 | 4,105 | 1.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,076 | 4,104 | 1.39 | -1 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 594 places |
| 2020 | #8,446 | 3,755 | 1.26 | -349 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 370 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 Shulman 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 | #8,076 | #8,446 | -4.6% |
| Count | 4,104 | 3,755 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.26 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shulman bearers went from 4,104 to 3,755 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 370 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,076 to #8,446.
FAQ
Shulman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shulman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,306 living Americans carry the surname Shulman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,599 residents.
How common is Shulman?
Shulman ranks #8,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,755 people with the surname Shulman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,306), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Shulman.
Has Shulman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shulman went from 4,104 recorded bearers to 3,755. That is a decrease of 349 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,076 to #8,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Shulman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shulman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Shulman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (3,534 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shulman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (2.2%), Two or More Races (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 Shulman (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 Shulman mean?
A Jewish occupational surname referring to a synagogue sexton or caretaker, derived from the Hebrew word "shul" for synagogue. 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 Shulman (1.26 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 share the surname Shulman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.