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

Silverman, 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 Silverman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Silverman in America

Silverman is the 2463rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Silverman surname appeared 14,636 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Silverman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Silverman 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 Silverman

The surname Silverman is of Ashkenazic Jewish origin, derived from the German words "Silber" meaning silver, and "mann" meaning man. It likely originated in Germany or Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.

Silverman was originally an occupational name given to a silversmith or someone who worked with silver. The earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in German records from the 16th century, with variations such as Silbermann and Silberman.

In the 17th century, the name appears in Russian census records, indicating that Jewish families with the surname Silverman had settled in parts of the Russian Empire. Some variations found in these records include Silvermann and Zilberman.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Abraham Silverman, a Jewish merchant who lived in Frankfurt, Germany in the late 16th century. Another notable figure was Mordechai Silverman, a renowned Talmudic scholar who lived in Krakow, Poland in the early 17th century.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, many Ashkenazi Jews with the surname Silverman immigrated to the United States and other parts of the world, fleeing persecution and seeking better opportunities. Some notable individuals from this period include:

1. Levi Silverman (1783-1856), a prominent businessman and philanthropist in New York City.
2. Sarah Silverman (1810-1892), a pioneer in the American Jewish education movement.
3. Joseph Silverman (1834-1901), a successful banker and real estate developer in San Francisco.

In the 20th century, the Silverman name continued to be prominent in various fields:

4. Sime Silverman (1909-1995), an influential American journalist and founder of the entertainment trade publication Variety.
5. George Silverman (1922-2007), a renowned physicist and professor at Harvard University.

The surname Silverman has a rich history dating back several centuries, reflecting the journeys and contributions of Jewish families across Europe and beyond.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Silverman

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

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 Silverman 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 Silverman 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 Silverman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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