Sutter
A unisex given name of German origin relating to occupations involving sewing or tailoring.
Name Census estimates that about 562 living Americans carry the first name Sutter. It is a predominantly male name (91.5% of registrations). The average person named Sutter today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sutter births was 2019 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sutter. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
562
~ 1 in 609,883 Americans
Peak year
2019
53 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,759
Tracked since 1995
Census
Sutter in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 420 people with the first name Sutter, which placed it at #23,335 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,335
National first-name rank
People counted
420
420 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sutter
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sutter is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sutter 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sutter at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 363
- Two or more races5.7% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 23
- Black or African American1.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Sutter
Sutter leans heavily male at 91.5% of total registrations, but 48 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sutter as a male name
- Ranked #3,759 in 2024
- 30 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (48 births)
Sutter as a female name
- Ranked #17,465 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2015 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sutter leans strongly male. 374 people counted with this name were male (88.0%), compared with 51 female bearers (12.0%).
Popularity
Sutter: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sutter from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 307 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sutter remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sutter by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sutter during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sutters live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Missouri recorded the most babies named Sutter, while Missouri, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sutter
The name Sutter has its origins in the German language and is derived from the Middle High German word "sutor," which means "shoemaker" or "cobbler." This occupational name was likely given to individuals who worked in this trade during the Middle Ages.
In the early days, the name Sutter was most commonly found in German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in areas like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, where it appeared in various historical records and documents.
While the name Sutter does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is closely tied to the rich history of German craftsmanship and the importance of skilled tradesmen during the medieval period. The name served as a representation of the individual's occupation and the vital role they played in society.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sutter was Johann Sutter, a German-Swiss settler who played a significant role in the early history of California. Born in 1803, Sutter established a colony in the Sacramento Valley, which later became known as Sutter's Fort. He is remembered for his contributions to the settlement and development of the region.
Another notable figure with the name Sutter was John Augustus Sutter, an American businessman and pioneer who lived from 1803 to 1880. He is credited with establishing the first non-Native American settlement in the interior of California, which later became known as Sacramento.
In the realm of literature, the name Sutter was famously associated with the German-American writer, Bret Harte. Born in 1836, Harte wrote several works that depicted life in the American West, including his famous short story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," which featured a character named Sutter.
The world of sports also had its share of notable individuals with the name Sutter. One such figure was Brian Sutter, a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach, born in 1956. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for several teams, including the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Another prominent individual with the name Sutter was the Dutch artist, Cornelis Sutter, who lived from 1590 to 1670. He was a renowned painter and etcher known for his genre scenes and landscape paintings, which captured the daily life and surroundings of his time.
People
Sutter + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sutter as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sutter: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sutter?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 562 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sutter going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 609,883 US residents.
Is Sutter a common name?
We classify Sutter as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 567 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sutter most popular?
The single biggest year for Sutter was 2019, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sutter is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sutter in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 420 people with the name Sutter, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,335 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sutter in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sutter?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sutter leans strongly male. 374 people counted with this name were male (88.0%), compared with 51 female bearers (12.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sutter?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sutter is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.7%) and Hispanic (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sutter most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sutter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (363 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sutter in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sutter a male name?
Yes, 91.5% of people registered as Sutter in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sutter still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sutter in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sutter can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Sutter as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Sutter on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.