2000
#13,802
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,011
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Saathoff
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of seed, derived from the Middle Low German "sāt".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,189 Americans carry the last name Saathoff. That puts it at #14,894 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 156,580 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saathoff 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
2.2K
1 in 156,580
Census rank
#14,894
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,909 bearers of the surname Saathoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14894th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saathoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saathoff
The surname Saathoff originates from the German-speaking regions of Northern Europe, with its earliest recorded instances appearing in the late 15th century. It is believed to be derived from a combination of the Old German words "saat" meaning "seed" and "hof" meaning "farm" or "courtyard." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to an individual who worked on a farm or estate involved in crop cultivation.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Saathoff can be found in a registry of land ownership records from the town of Norderstedt, near Hamburg, in the year 1497. Here, a farmer named Hans Saathoff is listed as the proprietor of a small agricultural holding. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late medieval period.
In the centuries that followed, the Saathoff name continued to be associated with rural communities and farming families across Northern Germany and neighboring areas. Several variations in spelling, such as Saathof, Saathoff, and Saadhoff, can be found in historical records from the 16th to 18th centuries.
Notably, a merchant named Johann Saathoff (1572-1638) from Lübeck is mentioned in various trade documents from the early 17th century, indicating that some members of the family had ventured into commercial pursuits beyond agriculture.
Another prominent individual bearing the name was Heinrich Saathoff (1766-1831), a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He authored several religious texts and served as a respected figure in the local community.
In the 19th century, the Saathoff name gained wider recognition through the work of the German painter and illustrator Wilhelm Saathoff (1834-1897). Born in Hamburg, he produced numerous landscapes and genre scenes that captured the rural life and traditions of Northern Germany.
Additionally, the Prussian general and military historian Ludwig Saathoff (1825-1904) made significant contributions to the study of military tactics and strategy, particularly in his analysis of the Franco-Prussian War.
While the name Saathoff has its roots in the agricultural communities of Northern Germany, its bearers have left their mark across various fields, from commerce and religion to art and military affairs, throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saathoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Saathoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Saathoff 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 Saathoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 1,754
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 87
- Two or more races2.3% · 43
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saathoff
Saathoff 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
#14,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,024
+13 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 889 places
2020
#14,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,909
-115 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 203 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,802 | 2,011 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,691 | 2,024 | 0.69 | +13 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 889 places |
| 2020 | #14,894 | 1,909 | 0.64 | -115 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 203 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 Saathoff 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 | #14,691 | #14,894 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,024 | 1,909 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.64 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saathoff bearers went from 2,024 to 1,909 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 203 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,691 to #14,894.
FAQ
Saathoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saathoff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,189 living Americans carry the surname Saathoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 156,580 residents.
How common is Saathoff?
Saathoff ranks #14,894 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,909 people with the surname Saathoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,189), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Saathoff.
Has Saathoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saathoff went from 2,024 recorded bearers to 1,909. That is a decrease of 115 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,691 to #14,894.
What does the Census say about the background of Saathoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saathoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Saathoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (1,754 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saathoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (4.6%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Saathoff (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 Saathoff mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of seed, derived from the Middle Low German "sāt". 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 Saathoff (0.64 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 share the surname Saathoff?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.