Find out how popular the last name Wittman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wittman.

Wittman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wittman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wittman in America

Wittman is the 7061st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wittman surname appeared 4,739 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Wittman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wittman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wittman

The surname Wittman originated in Germany and is believed to have derived from a combination of the Germanic elements "wit" meaning wide or broad, and "mann" meaning man or person. It is thought to have initially been a descriptive name given to someone with a broad or sturdy physique.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Wittman date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. It appears in historical records spelled in various ways, such as Wittmann, Wihtman, and Witman, reflecting regional dialect variations.

In the 14th century, the name Wittman is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents related to the Brandenburg region of Germany. This suggests the name was prevalent in that area during that time period.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Wittman was Hans Wittman, a merchant and city councilor in Nuremberg, who lived from around 1430 to 1495. Another notable early bearer of the name was Johann Wittman, a Protestant reformer and theologian from Saxony, who lived between 1498 and 1572.

In the 16th century, the name Wittman is recorded in connection with the town of Wittmannsdorf, now part of the city of Chemnitz in Saxony. This suggests the name may have been derived from or associated with this place name at some point in its history.

Later notable individuals with the surname Wittman include Johann Michael Wittman (1661-1722), a German composer and organist, and Johann Georg Wittman (1717-1776), a German mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the calculation of cometary orbits.

As the name spread beyond Germany, it also took on variations in other languages, such as Whitman in English-speaking regions. Walt Whitman (1819-1892), the renowned American poet and author, is perhaps the most famous bearer of this variant of the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wittman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wittman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wittman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wittman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wittman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wittman, please contact us.

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