2000
#12,466
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,284
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Sailer
An occupational surname referring to a sailor, mariner, or one who operates or works on boats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,598 Americans carry the last name Sailer. That puts it at #12,959 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,930 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sailer 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
2.6K
1 in 131,930
Census rank
#12,959
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,266 bearers of the surname Sailer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12959th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sailer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sailer
The surname SAILER has its origins in the German language, and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "seilaere," which referred to a maker or seller of ropes, cords, or strings.
The name SAILER first appeared in various regions of Germany, particularly in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where the rope-making industry was prevalent. It is likely that the earliest bearers of this surname were craftsmen involved in this trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SAILER can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Abbey of St. Gallen in Switzerland, dating back to the 9th century. The name is also mentioned in the Liber Censuum, a tax register from the city of Nuremberg, in the year 1497.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname SAILER was Johann Sailer, a Catholic theologian and writer from Bavaria. He was born in 1751 and died in 1832, and his works had a significant influence on the Catholic Church during his time.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Alois Sailer, a German painter and illustrator who lived in the 19th century. He was born in 1842 and died in 1920, and his works often depicted scenes from Bavarian folklore and rural life.
The SAILER name has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Sailershausen, a small town in the state of Hesse, and Sailersbach, a municipality in Bavaria.
In the 18th century, a family of musicians with the surname SAILER gained recognition in Austria. Johann Michael Sailer, born in 1754 and died in 1826, was a violinist and composer who performed in the court of Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus von Colloredo in Salzburg.
Another notable figure was Georg Sailer, a German-born American author and educator who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in 1856 and died in 1928, and his works focused on subjects such as sociology, education, and philosophy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sailer
Among Census respondents with the surname Sailer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sailer 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 Sailer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 2,080
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 80
- Two or more races3.0% · 69
- Black or African American0.7% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sailer
Sailer 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
#12,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,520
+236 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 127 places
2020
#12,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,266
-254 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 620 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,466 | 2,284 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,339 | 2,520 | 0.85 | +236 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 127 places |
| 2020 | #12,959 | 2,266 | 0.76 | -254 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 620 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 Sailer 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 | #12,339 | #12,959 | -5.0% |
| Count | 2,520 | 2,266 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.76 | -10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sailer bearers went from 2,520 to 2,266 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 620 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,339 to #12,959.
FAQ
Sailer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sailer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,598 living Americans carry the surname Sailer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,930 residents.
How common is Sailer?
Sailer ranks #12,959 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,266 people with the surname Sailer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,598), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Sailer.
Has Sailer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sailer went from 2,520 recorded bearers to 2,266. That is a decrease of 254 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,339 to #12,959.
What does the Census say about the background of Sailer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sailer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sailer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (2,080 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sailer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sailer (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 Sailer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a sailor, mariner, or one who operates or works on boats. 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 Sailer (0.76 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 Sailer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.