2000
#12,009
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,387
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Widman
A German occupational surname referring to a surveyor or a person who measured and marked widths.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,422 Americans carry the last name Widman. That puts it at #13,728 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,517 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Widman 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
2.4K
1 in 141,517
Census rank
#13,728
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,112 bearers of the surname Widman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13728th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Widman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Widman
The surname Widman originated in Germany and is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "wit," meaning "wide" or "broad," and the word "man," referring to a person. It is thought to have been a descriptive surname given to someone with a broad or sturdy build.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Widman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 12th century. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time in the region.
In the 14th century, the Widman family was mentioned in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where they held positions of influence and prominence. Johann Widman, a renowned mathematician and astronomer, was born in Eger (modern-day Cheb, Czech Republic) around 1460. He was the author of several works on arithmetic and astronomy.
During the 16th century, the Widman family expanded its presence across various regions of Germany. Hans Widman, a scholar and humanist, was born in Heilbronn in 1501. He studied at the University of Tübingen and later became a professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Heidelberg.
In the 17th century, the name Widman appeared in records from the town of Groß-Gerau in Hesse, where members of the family held positions as respected citizens and landowners. Johann Widman, born in Groß-Gerau in 1625, was a prominent jurist and served as a judge in the Imperial Chamber Court (Reichskammergericht).
The 18th century saw the Widman family spread further across Germany and into neighboring regions. Johann Widman, born in Nuremberg in 1724, was a renowned painter and engraver, known for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting scenes from the Nuremberg region.
As the name Widman continued to be passed down through generations, it also found its way into other parts of Europe and beyond. Notable individuals with this surname include the Swiss author and journalist Max Widmer (1876-1940), the American writer and educator John Wideman (born 1941), and the Swedish actress and director Pia Widmann (born 1945).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Widman
Among Census respondents with the surname Widman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Widman 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 Widman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 1,895
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 94
- Two or more races2.5% · 52
- Black or African American1.8% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Widman
Widman 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
#12,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,395
+8 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 847 places
2020
#13,728
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,112
-283 bearers (-11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 872 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,009 | 2,387 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,856 | 2,395 | 0.81 | +8 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 847 places |
| 2020 | #13,728 | 2,112 | 0.71 | -283 bearers (-11.8%) | Down 872 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 Widman 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 | #12,856 | #13,728 | -6.8% |
| Count | 2,395 | 2,112 | -11.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.71 | -12.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Widman bearers went from 2,395 to 2,112 (-11.8% change). The surname moved down 872 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,856 to #13,728.
FAQ
Widman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Widman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,422 living Americans carry the surname Widman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,517 residents.
How common is Widman?
Widman ranks #13,728 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,112 people with the surname Widman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,422), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Widman.
Has Widman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Widman went from 2,395 recorded bearers to 2,112. That is a decrease of 283 (-11.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,856 to #13,728.
What does the Census say about the background of Widman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Widman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) 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 Widman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (1,895 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Widman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Hispanic (4.5%), 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 Widman (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 Widman mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a surveyor or a person who measured and marked widths. 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 Widman (0.71 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 share the surname Widman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.