2000
#17,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,508
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.56
Rare Last name
Lachman
A surname of German origin meaning "linen weaver."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,616 Americans carry the last name Lachman. That puts it at #19,252 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 212,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lachman 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
1.6K
1 in 212,100
Census rank
#19,252
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,409 bearers of the surname Lachman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19252nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.5%) and Black (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lachman
The surname LACHMAN is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German words "lahhe" meaning "stream" or "brook," and "man" meaning "man." It likely originated in the 13th or 14th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a stream or brook.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LACHMAN can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Brandenburg region of Germany, dated around 1375. The name appears as "Lacheman" in a document referring to a landowner or tenant.
In the 16th century, the name LACHMAN is mentioned in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of various German towns and villages, indicating its widespread use across different regions. Notable examples include Johann LACHMAN, born in 1542 in Nuremberg, and Hans LACHMAN, born in 1568 in Augsburg.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name LACHMAN can be found in various records and documents across Germany, such as tax rolls, guild registers, and legal proceedings. One notable individual was Johann Friedrich LACHMAN, a Lutheran theologian and philosopher born in 1635 in Hildesheim.
In the 19th century, the LACHMAN surname gained prominence with several notable figures. One example is Karl Konrad Friedrich Wilhelm LACHMANN, a German philologist and critic born in 1793 in Braunschweig, who made significant contributions to the study of ancient and medieval texts.
Another notable individual from this period was Friedrich LACHMANN, a German jurist and politician born in 1832 in Braunschweig, who served as the Minister of Justice for the German Empire in the late 19th century.
While the name LACHMAN has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and immigration. However, the earliest recorded instances and historical references predominantly originate from various regions of Germany, reflecting its Germanic origins and the surname's evolution over centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lachman
Among Census respondents with the surname Lachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.5%) and Black (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lachman 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 Lachman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.2% · 1,046
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.5% · 148
- Black or African American5.7% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 68
- Two or more races4.2% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lachman
Lachman 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
#18,137
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,535
+27 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Down 855 places
2020
#19,252
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,409
-126 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 1,115 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,282 | 1,508 | 0.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,137 | 1,535 | 0.52 | +27 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 855 places |
| 2020 | #19,252 | 1,409 | 0.47 | -126 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 1,115 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 Lachman 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 | #18,137 | #19,252 | -6.1% |
| Count | 1,535 | 1,409 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.52 | 0.47 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lachman bearers went from 1,535 to 1,409 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 1,115 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,137 to #19,252.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lachman
FAQ
Lachman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lachman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,616 living Americans carry the surname Lachman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 212,100 residents.
How common is Lachman?
Lachman ranks #19,252 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.47 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 1,409 people with the surname Lachman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,616), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.47 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 Lachman.
Has Lachman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lachman went from 1,535 recorded bearers to 1,409. That is a decrease of 126 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,137 to #19,252.
What does the Census say about the background of Lachman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lachman, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.5%) and Black (5.7%). 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 Lachman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (1,046 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lachman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (10.5%), Black (5.7%). 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 Lachman (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 Lachman mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "linen weaver." 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 Lachman (0.47 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 Americans have the surname Lachman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.