2000
#7,112
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,332
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.61
Rare Last name
Weisman
A Jewish surname derived from the German word "weiss," meaning "white," likely referring to someone with light hair or complexion.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,448 Americans carry the last name Weisman. That puts it at #8,175 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,058 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weisman 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
4.4K
1 in 77,058
Census rank
#8,175
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,879 bearers of the surname Weisman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8175th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weisman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weisman
The surname WEISMAN is of German and Jewish origin. It is a locational name derived from the German word "Weiss" which means "white". This surname likely originated in areas of Germany where there were communities of German Jews during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded examples of this surname is from the 14th century in the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, located in what is now the German state of Baden-Württemberg. A man named Hans Weisman is listed in tax records from 1368 as a resident of the Jewish quarter of Freiburg.
The WEISMAN surname can also be found in various old Germanic manuscripts and records from the 15th and 16th centuries. For instance, a Rabbi named Abraham Weisman is mentioned in a Hebrew text from 1492, believed to have been born in the town of Worms, Germany around 1420.
During the 17th century, many German Jews bearing the WEISMAN surname migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One notable individual was Joseph ben Isaac Weisman (1638-1697), a renowned Talmudic scholar and rabbi who lived in Amsterdam.
In the 18th century, another prominent figure with this last name was Naphtali Herz Weisman (1725-1805), a German Jewish banker and philanthropist from Berlin. He was instrumental in helping to secure legal rights for Jews in Prussia.
As the WEISMAN surname spread across Europe and beyond, variations emerged such as Weissman, Wissmann, and Weisemann. Some of these spelling variations were influenced by the places where families settled, such as the town of Wismar in northern Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weisman
Among Census respondents with the surname Weisman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Weisman 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 Weisman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 3,604
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 131
- Two or more races2.0% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 44
- Black or African American0.5% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weisman
Weisman 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
#7,707
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,308
-24 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 595 places
2020
#8,175
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,879
-429 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 468 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,112 | 4,332 | 1.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,707 | 4,308 | 1.46 | -24 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 595 places |
| 2020 | #8,175 | 3,879 | 1.30 | -429 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 468 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 Weisman 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 | #7,707 | #8,175 | -6.1% |
| Count | 4,308 | 3,879 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.30 | -11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weisman bearers went from 4,308 to 3,879 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 468 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,707 to #8,175.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Weisman
FAQ
Weisman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weisman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,448 living Americans carry the surname Weisman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,058 residents.
How common is Weisman?
Weisman ranks #8,175 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.30 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 3,879 people with the surname Weisman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,448), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.30 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 Weisman.
Has Weisman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weisman went from 4,308 recorded bearers to 3,879. That is a decrease of 429 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,707 to #8,175.
What does the Census say about the background of Weisman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weisman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Weisman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (3,604 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weisman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Weisman (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 Weisman mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the German word "weiss," meaning "white," likely referring to someone with light hair or complexion. 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 Weisman (1.30 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 Americans have the surname Weisman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.