2000
#8,302
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,669
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.36
Rare Last name
Perlman
A Jewish surname derived from the Yiddish word "perel" or "perle," meaning "pearl."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,017 Americans carry the last name Perlman. That puts it at #8,963 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,326 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Perlman 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
4.0K
1 in 85,326
Census rank
#8,963
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,503 bearers of the surname Perlman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8963rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Perlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Perlman
The surname Perlman is of German and Yiddish origin, derived from the German word "Perle" meaning "pearl." It likely originated as an occupational name for someone who worked with pearls or as a nickname for someone who was considered valuable and precious like a pearl.
The earliest known record of the surname dates back to the 16th century in the town of Furth, Bavaria, where a Jewish family was recorded with the name Perlman. This suggests that the name may have been adopted by Ashkenazi Jews living in German-speaking regions.
In the 17th century, the Perlman surname can be found in various records and manuscripts from the Holy Roman Empire, including the cities of Frankfurt, Mainz, and Worms. It's possible that the name was also influenced by the German word "Perlmutter," which means "mother-of-pearl," further reinforcing its connection to the pearl trade.
One notable early bearer of the Perlman surname was Rabbi Yisrael Perlman, who lived in the 17th century and was a renowned Talmudic scholar in the city of Krakow, Poland. Another early Perlman was Yitzhak Perlman, a 17th-century Hebrew grammarian and scholar from Prague.
In the 19th century, several Perlmans gained prominence in various fields. These include Selig Perlman (1888-1959), an American economist and labor historian, and Itzhak Perlman (born 1945), the world-renowned Israeli-American violinist and conductor.
Other notable individuals with the Perlman surname include Philip Perlman (1890-1960), an American lawyer and government official who served as the United States Secretary of Labor under President Harry S. Truman, and Walter Perlman (1915-1997), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Perlman Music Program.
While the Perlman surname has its roots in Germany and Yiddish-speaking communities, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Israel, and other countries with significant Jewish populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Perlman
Among Census respondents with the surname Perlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Perlman 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 Perlman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 3,258
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 132
- Two or more races1.8% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- Black or African American0.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Perlman
Perlman 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
#8,962
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,653
-16 bearers (-0.4%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Down 660 places
2020
#8,963
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,503
-150 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,302 | 3,669 | 1.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,962 | 3,653 | 1.24 | -16 bearers (-0.4%) | Down 660 places |
| 2020 | #8,963 | 3,503 | 1.17 | -150 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 1 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 Perlman 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 | #8,962 | #8,963 | -0.0% |
| Count | 3,653 | 3,503 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.17 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Perlman bearers went from 3,653 to 3,503 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,962 to #8,963.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Perlman
FAQ
Perlman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Perlman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,017 living Americans carry the surname Perlman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,326 residents.
How common is Perlman?
Perlman ranks #8,963 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.17 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 3,503 people with the surname Perlman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,017), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.17 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 Perlman.
Has Perlman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Perlman went from 3,653 recorded bearers to 3,503. That is a decrease of 150 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,962 to #8,963.
What does the Census say about the background of Perlman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Perlman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Perlman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (3,258 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Perlman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Perlman (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 Perlman mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the Yiddish word "perel" or "perle," meaning "pearl." 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 Perlman (1.17 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 common is the surname Perlman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Perlman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.