2000
#7,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,325
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.60
Rare Last name
Weidman
An occupational surname referring to a hunter or gamekeeper, derived from the German words "Weid" (hunting) and "Mann" (man).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,694 Americans carry the last name Weidman. That puts it at #7,780 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,020 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weidman 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
4.7K
1 in 73,020
Census rank
#7,780
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,093 bearers of the surname Weidman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7780th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weidman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weidman
The surname Weidman originated in Germany and Switzerland in the Middle Ages. It was derived from the German word "weiden," meaning "to pasture" or "to herd cattle," indicating that the name's bearers were likely herdsmen or cattle farmers.
The earliest recorded instances of the Weidman name date back to the 13th century in various German regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony. The name appeared in various spellings, including Weidemann, Weidemann, Weidtmann, and Weidtman.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Weidman name was Johannes Weidman, a cattle farmer from the village of Altdorf, near Nuremberg, who was mentioned in a local land registry in 1287.
In the 14th century, the name Weidman appeared in the Berner Schriftquellen, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bern, Switzerland. These records mentioned a family named Weidman who owned a farm in the nearby village of Münsingen.
During the 16th century, the Weidman name gained prominence in the city of Augsburg, Germany, where a prominent merchant family named Weidman resided. Hans Weidman (1510-1578) was a successful trader who established trade routes between Augsburg and Venice.
Another notable figure with the Weidman surname was Johann Weidman (1677-1743), a German theologian and professor at the University of Jena. He authored several influential works on Lutheran theology and ethics.
In the 18th century, a branch of the Weidman family emigrated to the American colonies, where they settled in Pennsylvania. One of the earliest recorded Weidmans in America was Johannes Weidman (1720-1795), who arrived in Philadelphia in 1742 from the German Palatinate region.
During the American Revolutionary War, Christian Weidman (1745-1819) served as a soldier in the Continental Army and fought in several battles, including the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Monmouth.
Throughout the 19th century, the Weidman name spread across various parts of the United States, with notable figures such as Jacob Weidman (1811-1890), a prominent farmer and landowner in Ohio, and William Weidman (1832-1908), a civil engineer who contributed to the construction of several railroads in the American West.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weidman
Among Census respondents with the surname Weidman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Weidman 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 Weidman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 3,775
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 114
- Two or more races2.5% · 104
- Black or African American1.2% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weidman
Weidman 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
#7,629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,350
+25 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Down 504 places
2020
#7,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,093
-257 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Down 151 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,125 | 4,325 | 1.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,629 | 4,350 | 1.47 | +25 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 504 places |
| 2020 | #7,780 | 4,093 | 1.37 | -257 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 151 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 Weidman 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 | #7,629 | #7,780 | -2.0% |
| Count | 4,350 | 4,093 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.47 | 1.37 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weidman bearers went from 4,350 to 4,093 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 151 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,629 to #7,780.
FAQ
Weidman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weidman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,694 living Americans carry the surname Weidman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,020 residents.
How common is Weidman?
Weidman ranks #7,780 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.37 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 4,093 people with the surname Weidman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,694), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.37 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 Weidman.
Has Weidman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weidman went from 4,350 recorded bearers to 4,093. That is a decrease of 257 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,629 to #7,780.
What does the Census say about the background of Weidman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weidman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (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 Weidman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (3,775 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weidman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (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 Weidman (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 Weidman mean?
An occupational surname referring to a hunter or gamekeeper, derived from the German words "Weid" (hunting) and "Mann" (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 Weidman (1.37 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 Weidman?
You can see how many people have the surname Weidman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.