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

Spielman, 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 Spielman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Spielman in America

Spielman is the 9991st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Spielman surname appeared 3,228 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Spielman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Spielman 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 Spielman

The surname Spielman is of German origin, derived from the medieval German word "spil" meaning "play" or "game." It is believed to have originated in the 13th or 14th century as a occupational surname given to jesters, minstrels, or entertainers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ulm tax records of 1351, where a Hans Spielman is listed. The name also appears in the Nuremberg city records from the late 14th century, with a reference to a Johannes Spielman.

In the 15th century, the surname is found in various parts of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony. A notable bearer of the name during this time was Konrad Spielman, a merchant from Augsburg who is mentioned in records from 1487.

As the name spread across Germany, variations in spelling began to appear, such as Spilman, Spielmann, and Speileman. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal errors.

In the 16th century, the name made its way to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Switzerland. One of the earliest Dutch bearers of the name was Pieter Spelmannus, a scholar and theologian born in Antwerp in 1534.

Fast forward to the 18th century, and we find Johann Christoph Spielman, a German composer and organist born in 1718 in Dresden. He is considered one of the earliest known musicians with the Spielman surname.

In the 19th century, the name gained prominence in the United States, with many German immigrants bearing the surname. One notable American Spielman was Isidor Spielman, a lawyer and politician from New York who served in the state assembly in the 1870s.

Another significant bearer of the name was Max Spielman, an Austrian-born American businessman born in 1876. He founded the Spielman Jewelers chain, which became a prominent retail business in the early 20th century.

As the name spread globally, it continued to evolve with various spellings and regional variations, but its origins can be traced back to the German word "spil" and the occupations associated with entertainment and games in medieval times.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Spielman

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

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

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

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