2000
#8,097
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,772
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.40
Rare Last name
Stroman
An occupational surname for someone who built roads or maintained highways, derived from the German word "Straßenmann."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,268 Americans carry the last name Stroman. That puts it at #8,505 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,308 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stroman 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
4.3K
1 in 80,308
Census rank
#8,505
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,722 bearers of the surname Stroman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8505th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stroman
The surname Stroman originated in Scotland in the 12th century. It is derived from the Middle English words "strom" meaning stream, and "mann" meaning man, indicating someone who lived near a stream or river. The earliest recorded spelling was Strowman in 1296 in the Bute County records.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Sir William Stroman, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. He was granted lands in Ayrshire for his bravery.
The Stroman name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of written submissions of Scottish nobility swearing allegiance to Edward I of England. This suggests the name's prominence among the Scottish gentry of that era.
In the 16th century, the Stroman family held lands in Perthshire and produced several notable clergymen, including Reverend James Stroman (1530-1599), who was a minister in the Church of Scotland.
The name Stroman has also been associated with places such as Stromanhill in Aberdeenshire, derived from the Old Norse words "straumr" meaning stream, and "haugr" meaning hill.
Other notable Stromans include:
- Sir Alexander Stroman (1688-1755), a Scottish merchant and Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
- Reverend John Stroman (1726-1799), a Scottish minister and author of religious works.
- Captain Thomas Stroman (1792-1865), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
- Janet Stroman (1864-1932), a Scottish suffragette and activist for women's rights.
- Robert Stroman (1919-2002), an American journalist and war correspondent during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stroman
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Stroman 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 Stroman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American56.2% · 2,091
- White33.2% · 1,236
- Two or more races5.8% · 216
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 149
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stroman
Stroman 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
#8,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,071
+299 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 1.38
Rank movement Down 44 places
2020
#8,505
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,722
-349 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Down 364 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,097 | 3,772 | 1.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,141 | 4,071 | 1.38 | +299 bearers (+7.9%) | Down 44 places |
| 2020 | #8,505 | 3,722 | 1.25 | -349 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 364 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 Stroman 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 | #8,141 | #8,505 | -4.5% |
| Count | 4,071 | 3,722 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.38 | 1.25 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stroman bearers went from 4,071 to 3,722 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 364 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,141 to #8,505.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Stroman
FAQ
Stroman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stroman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,268 living Americans carry the surname Stroman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,308 residents.
How common is Stroman?
Stroman ranks #8,505 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.25 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 3,722 people with the surname Stroman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.25 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 Stroman.
Has Stroman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stroman went from 4,071 recorded bearers to 3,722. That is a decrease of 349 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,141 to #8,505.
What does the Census say about the background of Stroman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stroman, the largest self-reported group is Black at 56.2%. The next largest groups are White (33.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Stroman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.2% (2,091 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stroman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (56.2%), White (33.2%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Stroman (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 Stroman mean?
An occupational surname for someone who built roads or maintained highways, derived from the German word "Straßenmann." 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 Stroman (1.25 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 share the surname Stroman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.