2000
#6,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,981
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.85
Rare Last name
Abramson
A patronymic surname of Jewish origin meaning "son of Abram" or "son of Abraham."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,320 Americans carry the last name Abramson. That puts it at #6,982 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,428 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Abramson 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 Abramson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,428
Census rank
#6,982
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,639 bearers of the surname Abramson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6982nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Abramson, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Abramson
The surname Abramson is of Ashkenazic Jewish origin, deriving from the Hebrew name "Avraham" or "Abraham." The name first emerged in the Middle Ages among Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe.
Abramson is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-son" to the personal name "Abram," indicating "son of Abram." This naming convention was common among Ashkenazi Jews, who often adopted surnames based on the given names of their ancestors.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Abramson can be found in the Pinkas Kehillat Friedberg, a 16th-century Jewish community record from the town of Friedberg, Germany. This document mentions an individual named Joseph Abramson, who lived in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the Abramson surname appeared in various Jewish communities across Europe. Notable individuals from this time period include Rabbi Judah Abramson (1638-1703), a prominent Talmudic scholar and author from Krakow, Poland.
As Jewish communities faced persecution and expulsion from various regions, the Abramson name spread throughout Europe and eventually to other parts of the world. In the 18th century, the surname can be found in records from Amsterdam, where a prominent Jewish family named Abramson resided.
One of the most famous individuals with the Abramson surname was Ralph Abramson (1900-1970), an American film producer and talent agent who founded the agency known today as International Creative Management (ICM). Another notable figure was Harold Abramson (1899-1980), a Canadian lawyer and jurist who served as a judge on the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
Other individuals bearing the Abramson surname include Moses Abramson (1858-1920), a Russian-American painter and illustrator; Lily Abramson (1904-1989), an American actress and dancer; and Jill Abramson (born 1954), a prominent American journalist and former executive editor of The New York Times.
The Abramson surname has a rich history rooted in the Jewish diaspora, reflecting the migration and perseverance of Ashkenazi Jewish communities across Europe and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Abramson
Among Census respondents with the surname Abramson, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Abramson 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 Abramson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 4,093
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 183
- Black or African American3.5% · 164
- Two or more races3.0% · 139
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Abramson
Abramson 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
#6,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,875
-106 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.65
Rank movement Down 600 places
2020
#6,982
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,639
-236 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.55
Rank movement Down 86 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,296 | 4,981 | 1.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,896 | 4,875 | 1.65 | -106 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 600 places |
| 2020 | #6,982 | 4,639 | 1.55 | -236 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 86 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 Abramson 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 | #6,896 | #6,982 | -1.2% |
| Count | 4,875 | 4,639 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.65 | 1.55 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Abramson bearers went from 4,875 to 4,639 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 86 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,896 to #6,982.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Abramson
FAQ
Abramson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Abramson?
Name Census estimates that about 5,320 living Americans carry the surname Abramson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,428 residents.
How common is Abramson?
Abramson ranks #6,982 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.55 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 4,639 people with the surname Abramson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,320), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.55 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 Abramson.
Has Abramson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Abramson went from 4,875 recorded bearers to 4,639. That is a decrease of 236 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,896 to #6,982.
What does the Census say about the background of Abramson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Abramson, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Abramson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (4,093 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Abramson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Hispanic (3.9%), Black (3.5%). 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 Abramson (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 Abramson mean?
A patronymic surname of Jewish origin meaning "son of Abram" or "son of Abraham." 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 Abramson (1.55 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 are called Abramson?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Abramson, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.