2000
#6,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,526
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.68
Rare Last name
Lohman
Derived from a German topographic name referring to someone living near a loam pit or clay deposit.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,044 Americans carry the last name Lohman. That puts it at #7,302 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,953 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lohman 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
5.0K
1 in 67,953
Census rank
#7,302
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,399 bearers of the surname Lohman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7302nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lohman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lohman
The surname Lohman is of German origin, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from the town of Lohmen in Saxony, Germany. The name Lohmen itself is thought to have evolved from the Old High German word "loh," meaning a small wooded area or a clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Lohman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, which mentions a certain "Tidericus de Lohmen" in the year 1286. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 13th century.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Lohman surname began to spread beyond Saxony as people migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries. In the late 15th century, a notable figure named Hans Lohman was recorded as a burgher (citizen) of the city of Lübeck, a prominent member of the Hanseatic League.
As the surname continued to disperse, variations in spelling emerged, such as Lohmann, Loehman, and Loehmann. In the 16th century, a German theologian and reformer named Johannes Lohman (1499-1569) made a significant contribution to the Protestant Reformation in Saxony.
The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) played a role in further spreading the Lohman name across Europe, as many families were displaced and sought refuge in other regions. During this period, a soldier named Friedrich Lohman (1592-1647) gained fame for his military prowess and served under several renowned commanders.
In the 18th century, a notable figure named Johann Gottlieb Lohman (1718-1781) was a German jurist and writer who authored several legal texts that were influential in his time. Another individual of note was the German botanist Johann Georg Christian Lohman (1783-1858), who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy.
As the Lohman surname continued to disperse globally, it found its way to various parts of the world through immigration. One notable example is the American painter William Samuel Lohman (1901-1968), who was born in Illinois and became known for his landscape paintings depicting rural scenes.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lohman
Among Census respondents with the surname Lohman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Lohman 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 Lohman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 3,987
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 167
- Two or more races3.2% · 142
- Black or African American0.9% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lohman
Lohman 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
#7,257
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,592
+66 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 1.56
Rank movement Down 412 places
2020
#7,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,399
-193 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Down 45 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,845 | 4,526 | 1.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,257 | 4,592 | 1.56 | +66 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 412 places |
| 2020 | #7,302 | 4,399 | 1.47 | -193 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 45 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 Lohman 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 | #7,257 | #7,302 | -0.6% |
| Count | 4,592 | 4,399 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.56 | 1.47 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lohman bearers went from 4,592 to 4,399 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 45 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,257 to #7,302.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Lohman
FAQ
Lohman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lohman?
Name Census estimates that about 5,044 living Americans carry the surname Lohman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,953 residents.
How common is Lohman?
Lohman ranks #7,302 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.47 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,399 people with the surname Lohman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,044), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.47 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Lohman.
Has Lohman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lohman went from 4,592 recorded bearers to 4,399. That is a decrease of 193 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,257 to #7,302.
What does the Census say about the background of Lohman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lohman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Lohman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (3,987 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lohman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Lohman (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 Lohman mean?
Derived from a German topographic name referring to someone living near a loam pit or clay deposit. 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 Lohman (1.47 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 people are called Lohman?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Lohman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.