2000
#5,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,453
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.02
Rare Last name
Truman
Derived from the Middle English term "trueman," meaning an honest or trustworthy man.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,008 Americans carry the last name Truman. That puts it at #6,255 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,050 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Truman 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Truman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.0K
1 in 57,050
Census rank
#6,255
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,239 bearers of the surname Truman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6255th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Truman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Truman
The surname Truman has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon era of England, deriving from the Old English words "trum" and "mann," which together mean "strong man." It was a name bestowed upon individuals who displayed exceptional physical prowess or valor in battle.
During the medieval period, the Truman name was prevalent in various regions of England, particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Variations of the spelling, such as Trewman and Trumann, were also common in historical records.
One of the earliest known references to the Truman name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landholdings in England following the Norman Conquest. The name appears in several entries, suggesting its establishment as a surname by that time.
Notable individuals bearing the Truman surname include Sir Thomas Truman (1638-1703), a prominent English merchant and philanthropist, and Benjamin Truman (1699-1780), a renowned brewer who founded the Truman Brewery in London.
In the United States, the most famous bearer of the Truman name was Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), the 33rd President of the United States. Truman's political career began in Missouri, where he served as a county judge and U.S. Senator before becoming Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt and ultimately ascending to the presidency.
Other notable Trumans throughout history include John Truman (1701-1760), an English clergyman and author, and Thomas Truman (1785-1835), an English engraver and renowned book illustrator.
The Truman surname has also been associated with several place names, such as Truman, Minnesota, and Truman, Arkansas, both named after President Harry S. Truman. These place names serve as a testament to the enduring legacy of this storied surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Truman
Among Census respondents with the surname Truman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Truman 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 Truman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 4,476
- Black or African American5.9% · 308
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 195
- Two or more races3.6% · 187
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Truman
Truman 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
#6,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,521
+68 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.87
Rank movement Down 388 places
2020
#6,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,239
-282 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.75
Rank movement Down 60 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,807 | 5,453 | 2.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,195 | 5,521 | 1.87 | +68 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 388 places |
| 2020 | #6,255 | 5,239 | 1.75 | -282 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 60 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 Truman 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 | #6,195 | #6,255 | -1.0% |
| Count | 5,521 | 5,239 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.87 | 1.75 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Truman bearers went from 5,521 to 5,239 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 60 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,195 to #6,255.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Truman
FAQ
Truman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Truman?
Name Census estimates that about 6,008 living Americans carry the surname Truman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,050 residents.
How common is Truman?
Truman ranks #6,255 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,239 people with the surname Truman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,008), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Truman.
Has Truman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Truman went from 5,521 recorded bearers to 5,239. That is a decrease of 282 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,195 to #6,255.
What does the Census say about the background of Truman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Truman, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Truman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (4,476 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Truman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.4%), Black (5.9%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Truman (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 Truman mean?
Derived from the Middle English term "trueman," meaning an honest or trustworthy man. 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 Truman (1.75 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 Truman?
See how many people have the last name Truman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.