The Friedman surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 38,374 people carried this name — #901 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,690 people counted. That is up 4% from 36,833 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Friedman surname
Borrowed from German Friedmann, from German Fried (“peace”) + Mann (“man”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Friedman» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 312 people named Friedman live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 116 people named Friedman live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 79 people named Friedman.
Most of them — 40 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 11 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
78 people named Friedman live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
27 people named Friedman have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 221 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lower Silesian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
90 people named Friedman is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Friedman in American newspapers,
1920–1925.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
Who carried it
People named Friedman,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Móric Friedmann 1827–1891 · composer -
Max Friedman d. 1964 · songwriter
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Clara Handelman Friedman d. 1997 · economist
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Robert Friedman d. 2022 · researcher
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Sylvia Friedman d. 2013 · politician
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Oscar Friedman d. 2000
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Friedman.
- Fridel 105 · U.S. census
- Fridman 1,177 · U.S. census
- Fridrich 359 · U.S. census
- Fried 7,010 · U.S. census
- Friedel 2,456 · U.S. census
- Friederich 836 · U.S. census
- Friedmann 1,207 · U.S. census
- Friedrich 6,249 · U.S. census
- Frier 1,427 · U.S. census
- Fries 8,540 · U.S. census
- Friess 1,157 · U.S. census
- Friez 181 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Friedman is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.