2000
#4,784
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,740
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.50
Rare Last name
Zimmermann
An occupational surname of German origin referring to a carpenter or someone who works with wood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,283 Americans carry the last name Zimmermann. That puts it at #4,749 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,380 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zimmermann 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 Zimmermann with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.3K
1 in 41,380
Census rank
#4,749
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,223 bearers of the surname Zimmermann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4749th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zimmermann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zimmermann
The surname Zimmermann is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "zimmer," meaning "room" or "chamber," and "mann," meaning "man." The name was originally an occupational surname given to carpenters or woodworkers who specialized in building the timber frames of houses and other structures. The earliest recorded examples of the name date back to the 13th century in Germany.
The name Zimmermann is most commonly found in the southern and central regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Hesse. It is also prevalent in German-speaking countries such as Austria and Switzerland. The name has several variations in spelling, including Zimmerman, Zimmer, and Timmermann.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Johann Georg Zimmermann (1728-1795), a Swiss philosopher, naturalist, and physician who served as the court physician to King George III of England. He is best known for his work on solitude and its effects on the human mind.
Another prominent figure with the surname Zimmermann was Arthur Zimmermann (1864-1940), a German politician and diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire during World War I. He is most famous for the Zimmermann Telegram, a secret diplomatic communication sent to Mexico, proposing an alliance against the United States.
In the world of music, Agnes Zimmermann (1847-1925) was a German-born British pianist and composer who was one of the first women to achieve recognition as a professional musician in England. She was a prolific composer, writing numerous works for piano, chamber ensembles, and orchestra.
The name Zimmermann has also been borne by several notable athletes, including German footballer Hans Zimmermann (1906-1984), who played for the German national team in the 1930s, and German-American baseball player Roy Zimmerman (1916-1991), who played for the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds in the 1940s.
In literature, the surname Zimmermann is associated with the protagonist of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's novel "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" (The Sorrows of Young Werther), first published in 1774. The novel, which is considered a masterpiece of German literature, tells the story of a young artist named Werther who falls in love with a woman named Lotte, who is engaged to another man named Albert Zimmermann.
The surname Zimmermann has also been adopted by many Jewish families, particularly those from the Ashkenazi Jewish tradition. In some cases, the name may have been adopted as a reference to the German word "zimmer," meaning "room," which could be interpreted as a metaphor for the Jewish people's confinement in ghettos during the Middle Ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zimmermann
Among Census respondents with the surname Zimmermann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Zimmermann 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 Zimmermann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 6,535
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 318
- Two or more races3.1% · 221
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 77
- Black or African American0.8% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zimmermann
Zimmermann 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
#4,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,123
+383 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Down 158 places
2020
#4,749
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,223
+100 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Up 193 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,784 | 6,740 | 2.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,942 | 7,123 | 2.41 | +383 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 158 places |
| 2020 | #4,749 | 7,223 | 2.42 | +100 bearers (+1.4%) | Up 193 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 Zimmermann 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 | #4,942 | #4,749 | 3.9% |
| Count | 7,123 | 7,223 | 1.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.41 | 2.42 | 0.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zimmermann bearers went from 7,123 to 7,223 (+1.4% change). The surname moved up 193 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,942 to #4,749.
FAQ
Zimmermann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zimmermann?
Name Census estimates that about 8,283 living Americans carry the surname Zimmermann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,380 residents.
How common is Zimmermann?
Zimmermann ranks #4,749 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.42 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 7,223 people with the surname Zimmermann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,283), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.42 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 Zimmermann.
Has Zimmermann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zimmermann went from 7,123 recorded bearers to 7,223. That is an increase of 100 (+1.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,942 to #4,749.
What does the Census say about the background of Zimmermann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zimmermann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.4%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Zimmermann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (6,535 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zimmermann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (4.4%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Zimmermann (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 Zimmermann mean?
An occupational surname of German origin referring to a carpenter or someone who works with wood. 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 Zimmermann (2.42 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 surname Zimmermann?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.