2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sacristan
A surname referring to a person who cared for the church furnishings and sacred vessels.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Sacristan. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sacristan 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Sacristan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sacristan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sacristan
The surname Sacristan is of Spanish and Portuguese origin, derived from the ecclesiastical word "sacristán" meaning "sexton" or "church officer". It likely emerged in the medieval period when many surnames began to take shape based on occupations and roles.
The name can be traced back to the Latin word "sacrista", which referred to a person who had charge of the sacristy, the room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments were kept. Over time, this evolved into the Spanish and Portuguese "sacristán".
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Sacristan can be found in the "Libro de las Behetrías" (Book of Bequests) from the 14th century, which was a record of lands and properties in the Crown of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Sacristan who were associated with various churches and monasteries.
In the 15th century, the name appears in records from the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Portugal and Spain. For instance, João Sacristan was a Portuguese knight who fought in the conquest of Ceuta in 1415, while in Spain, Pedro Sacristan was a renowned sculptor and architect who worked on the Cathedral of Seville in the late 15th century.
As the name spread across the Spanish and Portuguese empires, it can be found in historical documents from the Americas and other regions. Notable figures include Diego Sacristan, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century, and Fray Bartolomé Sacristan, a Spanish Franciscan missionary who evangelized in New Mexico in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, José Sacristan was a prominent Spanish painter and engraver, best known for his works depicting religious themes and portraits of the Spanish nobility. Another notable individual was Manuel Sacristan, a Portuguese navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to Africa and the Indian Ocean in the late 18th century.
The name Sacristan has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Spain and Portugal, such as the villages of Sacristán and Sacristán de Campos in the provinces of Cuenca and Segovia, respectively. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Sacristan who lived in or were associated with those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sacristan
Among Census respondents with the surname Sacristan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Sacristan 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 Sacristan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.7% · 102
- White5.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sacristan
Sacristan appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 3,182 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 Sacristan 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 | #152,628 | #149,446 | 2.1% |
| Count | 107 | 110 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sacristan bearers went from 107 to 110 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 3,182 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #149,446.
FAQ
Sacristan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sacristan?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Sacristan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Sacristan?
Sacristan ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Sacristan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Sacristan.
Has Sacristan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sacristan went from 107 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Sacristan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sacristan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sacristan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sacristan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.7%), White (5.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Sacristan (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 Sacristan mean?
A surname referring to a person who cared for the church furnishings and sacred vessels. 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 Sacristan (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Sacristan?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.