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

Surma, 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 Surma surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Surma in America

Surma is the 27331st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Surma surname appeared 884 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 Surma.

We can also compare 2010 data for Surma 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 Surma

The surname Surma has its origins in Poland, where it first appeared in records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Polish word "sur," meaning "stern" or "severe," possibly referring to the demeanor or personality of an early bearer of the name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Surma surname can be found in the historic town of Krakow, where a merchant named Jan Surma was mentioned in municipal records from the year 1387. This suggests that the name may have originated among the merchant class or tradespeople of that region.

In the 16th century, the Surma name appeared in the records of the Polish nobility, indicating that some members of the family had risen to a higher social standing. A notable example is Stanisław Surma, a Polish nobleman who served as a courtier to King Sigismund III Vasa in the early 1600s.

The Surma surname can also be traced to the village of Surmowo, located in the Masovian Voivodeship of central Poland. It is likely that the name of this village, which dates back to the Middle Ages, is related to the surname's origin and may have influenced its development.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure bearing the Surma name was Andrzej Surma, a Polish artist and painter who was born in 1828 and gained recognition for his landscapes and portraiture. His works can be found in several museums and galleries across Poland.

Another historically significant individual with the Surma surname was Józef Surma, a Polish military officer who fought in the November Uprising against Russian Imperial rule in 1830-1831. He later emigrated to France and became a writer, publishing memoirs of his experiences during the uprising.

In the early 20th century, Stanisław Surma was a Polish politician and journalist who served as a member of the Sejm (the Polish parliament) and was actively involved in the fight for Polish independence during World War I.

While the Surma surname is predominantly found in Poland, it has also been carried by individuals of Polish descent living in other parts of Europe and beyond, as a result of migration and diaspora over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Surma

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!