2000
#2,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,474
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.62
Uncommon Last name
Redman
An English surname referring to a person with red hair, a ruddy complexion, or who wore red clothing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,635 Americans carry the last name Redman. That puts it at #2,962 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 25,138 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Redman 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 Redman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 25,138
Census rank
#2,962
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,890 bearers of the surname Redman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2962nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Redman, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Redman
The surname Redman originated in England in the late 12th century. It derives from the Old English words 'read' meaning red and 'man' referring to a person. The name likely referred to someone with reddish hair or a ruddy complexion. Some of the earliest spellings include Radmanne, Redeman, and Reodman.
One of the earliest records of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, which mentions a William Redman. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also list several bearers of the name, such as Adam le Redman and Roger Redman.
In the 14th century, the Redman family held lands in Yorkshire, and a Sir Matthew Redman served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1337 to 1348. Another notable Redman was John Redman (c.1499-1551), a English Catholic scholar and the last master of the college of clergy at Sheen.
During the Wars of the Roses, Sir Richard Redman (c.1450-1505) was a staunch supporter of the House of York and fought alongside Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. He was later attainted by Henry VII for his loyalty to the Yorkist cause.
In the 16th century, William Redman (c.1516-1538) was an English sailor and one of the first Englishmen to circumnavigate the globe as part of the Magellan expedition. He served as the pilot of the Victoria, one of the few ships to return from the voyage.
The Redmans were also prominent in Ireland, where they held lands in County Wexford. Sir John Redman (c.1610-1675) was an Irish landowner and Member of Parliament who played a role in the Irish Confederate Wars during the 1640s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Redman
Among Census respondents with the surname Redman, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Redman 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 Redman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.4% · 9,327
- Black or African American10.2% · 1,207
- Two or more races5.8% · 686
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 467
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 85
Timeline
Historical Census data for Redman
Redman 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
#2,770
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,028
+554 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 4.42
Rank movement Down 110 places
2020
#2,962
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,890
-1,138 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 3.98
Rank movement Down 192 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,660 | 12,474 | 4.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,770 | 13,028 | 4.42 | +554 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 110 places |
| 2020 | #2,962 | 11,890 | 3.98 | -1,138 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 192 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 Redman 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 | #2,770 | #2,962 | -6.9% |
| Count | 13,028 | 11,890 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.42 | 3.98 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Redman bearers went from 13,028 to 11,890 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 192 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,770 to #2,962.
FAQ
Redman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Redman?
Name Census estimates that about 13,635 living Americans carry the surname Redman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 25,138 residents.
How common is Redman?
Redman ranks #2,962 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,890 people with the surname Redman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,635), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Redman.
Has Redman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Redman went from 13,028 recorded bearers to 11,890. That is a decrease of 1,138 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,770 to #2,962.
What does the Census say about the background of Redman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Redman, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.2%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Redman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.4% (9,327 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Redman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.4%), Black (10.2%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Redman (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 Redman mean?
An English surname referring to a person with red hair, a ruddy complexion, or who wore red clothing. 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 Redman (3.98 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 Redman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Redman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.