2000
#9,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,004
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.11
Rare Last name
Testerman
An English occupational surname for someone who attests documents or oversees oaths.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,323 Americans carry the last name Testerman. That puts it at #10,559 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 103,146 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Testerman 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
3.3K
1 in 103,146
Census rank
#10,559
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,898 bearers of the surname Testerman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10559th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Testerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Testerman
The surname Testerman is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old German word "testen," meaning "to test or examine." This suggests that the name may have referred to an occupation or trade, possibly related to assaying or testing metals or other materials.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the German city of Augsburg, where a certain Hans Testerman is mentioned in municipal records from the year 1437. This provides evidence that the name had already been established in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, the name appears to have spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring regions such as Austria and Switzerland. Records from this period show variations in spelling, including Testermann, Testerman, and Testerman.
The name Testerman is also found in historical documents from the Netherlands, suggesting that it may have been adopted by Dutch families as well. One notable bearer of the name was Jan Testerman, a merchant from Amsterdam who lived in the late 17th century and was involved in the Dutch East India Company's trade with the East Indies.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way to other countries through migration and immigration. In the 18th century, there are records of individuals with the surname Testerman in England and Scotland, possibly descendants of German or Dutch immigrants.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name in North America was Johann Testerman, who was born in Germany in 1712 and immigrated to Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century. He and his descendants played a role in the development of the Pennsylvania Dutch community.
Other notable individuals with the surname Testerman include:
1. Wilhelm Testerman (1820-1892), a German philosopher and academic.
2. Anna Testerman (1854-1931), a Swiss artist known for her landscape paintings.
3. Heinrich Testerman (1876-1942), a German engineer and inventor who made contributions to the development of early automobiles.
4. Edward Testerman (1894-1965), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania.
5. Judith Testerman (born 1948), an American author and journalist who has written extensively on environmental and social issues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Testerman
Among Census respondents with the surname Testerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Testerman 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 Testerman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 2,636
- Two or more races4.9% · 141
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 17
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Testerman
Testerman 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
#10,107
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,187
+183 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 200 places
2020
#10,559
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,898
-289 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Down 452 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,907 | 3,004 | 1.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,107 | 3,187 | 1.08 | +183 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 200 places |
| 2020 | #10,559 | 2,898 | 0.97 | -289 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 452 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 Testerman 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 | #10,107 | #10,559 | -4.5% |
| Count | 3,187 | 2,898 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 0.97 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Testerman bearers went from 3,187 to 2,898 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 452 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,107 to #10,559.
FAQ
Testerman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Testerman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,323 living Americans carry the surname Testerman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 103,146 residents.
How common is Testerman?
Testerman ranks #10,559 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.97 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 2,898 people with the surname Testerman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,323), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.97 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 Testerman.
Has Testerman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Testerman went from 3,187 recorded bearers to 2,898. That is a decrease of 289 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,107 to #10,559.
What does the Census say about the background of Testerman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Testerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Testerman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (2,636 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Testerman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Testerman (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 Testerman mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who attests documents or oversees oaths. 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 Testerman (0.97 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 have the last name Testerman?
If you just want to know how many people are called Testerman, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.