2000
#9,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,160
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.17
Rare Last name
Spielman
A German occupational surname referring to a musician, particularly one who plays a string or plucked instrument.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,400 Americans carry the last name Spielman. That puts it at #10,329 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,810 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spielman 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.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 100,810
Census rank
#10,329
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,965 bearers of the surname Spielman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10329th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spielman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spielman
Among Census respondents with the surname Spielman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Spielman 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 Spielman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,767
- Two or more races2.7% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 20
- Black or African American0.6% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spielman
Spielman 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
#9,991
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,228
+68 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 555 places
2020
#10,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,965
-263 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 338 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,436 | 3,160 | 1.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,991 | 3,228 | 1.09 | +68 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 555 places |
| 2020 | #10,329 | 2,965 | 0.99 | -263 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 338 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 Spielman 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 | #9,991 | #10,329 | -3.4% |
| Count | 3,228 | 2,965 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 0.99 | -9.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spielman bearers went from 3,228 to 2,965 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 338 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,991 to #10,329.
FAQ
Spielman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spielman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,400 living Americans carry the surname Spielman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,810 residents.
How common is Spielman?
Spielman ranks #10,329 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 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 2,965 people with the surname Spielman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,400), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 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 Spielman.
Has Spielman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spielman went from 3,228 recorded bearers to 2,965. That is a decrease of 263 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,991 to #10,329.
What does the Census say about the background of Spielman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spielman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Spielman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,767 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spielman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Spielman (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 Spielman mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a musician, particularly one who plays a string or plucked instrument. 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 Spielman (0.99 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 Spielman?
See how many Americans have the surname Spielman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.