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

Spaman, 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 Spaman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spaman in America

Spaman is the 134712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spaman surname appeared 125 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 Spaman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spaman 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 Spaman

The surname Spaman has its origins in the Netherlands, tracing back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "spammen," which means "to overflow" or "to spill over." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a river or a body of water prone to flooding.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Spaman name can be found in the Dutch municipal records of the city of Amsterdam, dated 1523. This entry refers to a merchant named Pieter Spaman, who was involved in trade with the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe.

In the late 16th century, the Spaman family is known to have settled in the province of Friesland, located in the northern part of the Netherlands. The name appears in several local parish records and land registries from this period, indicating that they were likely involved in agricultural activities or owned farmland.

During the 17th century, a prominent member of the Spaman family was Jan Spaman (1602-1673), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscapes and seascapes. His works can be found in several prestigious art collections, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris.

In the 18th century, the Spaman name gained recognition through the achievements of Cornelis Spaman (1728-1801), a Dutch mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and was appointed as the director of the Leiden Observatory in 1786.

Another notable figure with the Spaman surname was Gerrit Spaman (1818-1892), a Dutch politician and jurist who served as the Minister of Justice in the Netherlands from 1877 to 1879. He played a crucial role in the development of Dutch legal and judicial systems during the latter half of the 19th century.

The Spaman family has also left its mark in other parts of Europe. In the 19th century, a branch of the family settled in Germany, where the name was adapted to the spelling "Spahmann." One remarkable individual from this lineage was Otto Spahmann (1850-1925), a German architect and urban planner who designed several iconic buildings in Berlin and other cities.

While the Spaman surname may not be as widespread as some other Dutch surnames, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has produced notable figures in various fields, including art, science, politics, and architecture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spaman

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

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

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

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