2000
#24,642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 950
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.35
Rare Last name
Aikman
An Old English surname derived from the personal name Athelhelm, meaning "noble helmet" or "noble protector."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,199 Americans carry the last name Aikman. That puts it at #24,869 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 285,867 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aikman 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 Aikman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.2K
1 in 285,867
Census rank
#24,869
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,046 bearers of the surname Aikman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 24869th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aikman, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aikman
The surname Aikman is of Scottish origin, deriving from the parish of Aiken in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The name is believed to have evolved from the Old English words "ac" meaning oak and "mann" meaning man, suggesting a connection to someone who resided near oak trees or in an oak forest.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Aikman can be traced back to the 13th century, with William de Aykeman mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name also appears in various medieval Scottish records, such as the Exchequer Rolls and the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland.
In the 16th century, the Aikmans were prominent landowners in the Borders region of Scotland, particularly in the areas around Jedburgh and Kelso. One notable figure was John Aikman, who was granted the lands of Cairney in Roxburghshire in 1540.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Aikman family spread throughout Scotland and beyond. William Aikman (1682-1731) was a renowned Scottish painter and writer, known for his portraits of prominent figures such as Sir John Clerk of Penicuik and Sir Robert Walpole. Another prominent individual was Thomas Aikman (1738-1804), a Scottish poet and literary critic.
In the 19th century, the Aikmans continued to play a role in Scottish society. Alexander Aikman (1806-1871) was a Scottish lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Haddingtonshire. James Aikman (1823-1902) was a Scottish-born Australian businessman and politician, who played a significant role in the development of Victoria.
Other notable individuals with the surname Aikman include John Aikman (1911-1996), a Scottish footballer who played for Rangers F.C. and the Scottish national team, and Troy Aikman (born 1966), an American former professional football quarterback who led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories in the 1990s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aikman
Among Census respondents with the surname Aikman, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Aikman 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 Aikman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.3% · 861
- Two or more races5.7% · 60
- Black or African American5.2% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aikman
Aikman 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
#24,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,039
+89 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.35
Rank movement Up 456 places
2020
#24,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,046
+7 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.35
Rank movement Down 683 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #24,642 | 950 | 0.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #24,186 | 1,039 | 0.35 | +89 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 456 places |
| 2020 | #24,869 | 1,046 | 0.35 | +7 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 683 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 Aikman 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 | #24,186 | #24,869 | -2.8% |
| Count | 1,039 | 1,046 | 0.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.35 | 0.35 | -0.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aikman bearers went from 1,039 to 1,046 (+0.7% change). The surname moved down 683 positions in the national ranking, going from #24,186 to #24,869.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Aikman
FAQ
Aikman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aikman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,199 living Americans carry the surname Aikman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 285,867 residents.
How common is Aikman?
Aikman ranks #24,869 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,046 people with the surname Aikman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,199), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Aikman.
Has Aikman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aikman went from 1,039 recorded bearers to 1,046. That is an increase of 7 (+0.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #24,186 to #24,869.
What does the Census say about the background of Aikman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aikman, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Aikman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (861 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aikman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.3%), Two or More Races (5.7%), Black (5.2%). 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 Aikman (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 Aikman mean?
An Old English surname derived from the personal name Athelhelm, meaning "noble helmet" or "noble protector." 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 Aikman (0.35 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 Aikman?
Want to know how many people have the last name Aikman? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.