2000
#4,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,855
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.91
Rare Last name
Spearman
An occupational surname referring to a soldier armed with a spear or a maker of spears.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,528 Americans carry the last name Spearman. That puts it at #4,626 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,192 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spearman 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 Spearman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.5K
1 in 40,192
Census rank
#4,626
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,437 bearers of the surname Spearman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4626th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spearman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (39.1%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spearman
The surname Spearman has its origins in England, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "spere," meaning a spear or lance, and "man," referring to a person who made or carried spears.
This name likely originated among those who worked as spearmen or soldiers skilled in using spears in medieval England. It may have also been given to individuals involved in the production or trade of spears during that period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Spearman can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named William Spereman is mentioned. This early spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time.
The Spearman surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, indicating its presence in various regions of England during the medieval period.
A notable historical figure bearing this name was John Spearman (c. 1480 - c. 1545), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Grantham in 1529.
In the 17th century, George Spearman (1633 - 1682) was a prominent English lawyer and judge who served as a Baron of the Exchequer.
Another individual of note was Sir Alexander Spearman (1758 - 1840), a British army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Lieutenant-General.
The Spearman surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Spearman's Green in East Sussex and Spearman's Lane in Cambridgeshire, further reinforcing its historical roots in the country.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Scotland dates back to 1548, when Robert Spearman was mentioned in the records of Edinburgh.
Throughout history, the Spearman surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including soldiers, politicians, lawyers, and tradesmen, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and occupations of those who bore this occupational name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spearman
Among Census respondents with the surname Spearman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (39.1%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Spearman 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 Spearman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.7% · 3,845
- White39.1% · 2,910
- Two or more races5.7% · 423
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 197
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spearman
Spearman 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
#4,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,199
+344 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 2.78
Rank movement Down 146 places
2020
#4,626
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,437
-762 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 2.49
Rank movement Down 296 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,184 | 7,855 | 2.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,330 | 8,199 | 2.78 | +344 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 146 places |
| 2020 | #4,626 | 7,437 | 2.49 | -762 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 296 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 Spearman 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 | #4,330 | #4,626 | -6.8% |
| Count | 8,199 | 7,437 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.78 | 2.49 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spearman bearers went from 8,199 to 7,437 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 296 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,330 to #4,626.
FAQ
Spearman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spearman?
Name Census estimates that about 8,528 living Americans carry the surname Spearman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,192 residents.
How common is Spearman?
Spearman ranks #4,626 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.49 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 7,437 people with the surname Spearman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,528), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.49 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 Spearman.
Has Spearman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spearman went from 8,199 recorded bearers to 7,437. That is a decrease of 762 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,330 to #4,626.
What does the Census say about the background of Spearman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spearman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (39.1%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Spearman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.7% (3,845 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spearman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (51.7%), White (39.1%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Spearman (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 Spearman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a soldier armed with a spear or a maker of spears. 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 Spearman (2.49 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 Spearman?
Want to know how common the surname Spearman is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.