Explore the Family Name Freedman
The meaning of Freedman
Altered form of South German, Swiss German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Friedmann or Friedman. This surname is also found in Britain. It has been suggested that it may have been an English status name in the feudal system for a serf who had been freed, but there is no evidence to support this (the earliest English example of this name is from the 18th century). Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Isadore, Hyman, Moshe, Rina, Emanuel, Hersh, Tzvi, Aron, Avi, Avraham.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Freedman in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Freedman witnessed a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Freedman was ranked 3658 in terms of popularity and decreased about 9% to rank 3985 in 2010. The count of people bearing this surname also experienced a marginal decrease of 0.15%, from 8926 in 2000 to 8913 in 2010. This led to a decrease in proportion per 100k from 3.31 in 2000 to 3.02 in 2010, marking an 8.76% change.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,658 | #3,985 | -8.94% |
| Count | 8,926 | 8,913 | -0.15% |
| Proportion per 100k | 3.31 | 3.02 | -8.76% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Freedman
The ethnic identity associated with the surname Freedman also saw shifts during this time period as reported in the Decennial U.S. Census data. The highest percentage of individuals identified as White, which reduced slightly by 0.63% from 95.43% in 2000 to 94.83% in 2010. The second most common ethnicity was those identifying as two or more races, but this group's representation fell by 30.08% during the same period. There was a noticeable rise in the percentage of Hispanic identifiers, which increased by 85.12%. The proportions of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native remain significantly low, although there was a small emergence in both groups seen in 2010. The percentage of Black identifiers dipped by 10.08% over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95.43% | 94.83% | -0.63% |
| Hispanic | 1.21% | 2.24% | 85.12% |
| Black | 1.29% | 1.16% | -10.08% |
| Two or More Races | 1.33% | 0.93% | -30.08% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.79% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.06% | 0% |
Freedman ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Freedman is Ashkenazi Jewish, which comprises 58.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (19.0%) and French & German (8.9%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, Scandinavian, and Chinese.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 58.8% |
| British & Irish | 19.0% |
| French & German | 8.9% |
| Other | 13.3% |
Possible origins of the surname Freedman
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Freedman have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 44.00% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 44.00% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 42.60% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 42.20% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 42.20% |
What Freedman haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Freedman is J-CTS5368, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup J-CTS5368 is descended from haplogroup J-M304. Other common haplogroups include E-L29 and G-M377, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Silverman, Rubin, Friedman, Goldberg, Goldman, Greenberg, Feldman, Berman, Shapiro, Bernstein.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Freedman surname are: K1a1b1a, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins J-M304
Your paternal lineage may be linked to men who spread the Semitic languages
Men carrying the J-M267 lineage took part in many waves of migrations over the millennia, and domesticated animals and plants weren't the only things they carried. They may also have been among the communities that spread the Semitic languages, a diverse group that bloomed from a single proto-Semitic tongue in the Levant nearly 5,750 years ago. These men likely carried branches of both haplogroup J and of the Semitic language family through the Arabian Peninsula to the Horn of Africa. Still later, some J-M267-bearing men re-expanded from the Arabian Peninsula back through the Middle East and across North Africa in migrations associated with the emergence and spread of Islam.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Freedman have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Freedman" Surname 40.9%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Freedman" Surname 21.6%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Freedman" Surname 8.9%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Freedman" Surname 15.8%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Freedman?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Freedman are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition