2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Saintz
A surname derived from the French word for "saint," likely indicating an ancestor's religious devotion or residence near a saint's shrine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Saintz. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saintz 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Saintz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saintz, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saintz
The surname Saintz is believed to have its origins in France, with roots that can be traced back to the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old French word "saint," which means "holy" or "sacred." This suggests that the name was likely initially given to individuals who lived near a church or holy site, or who had a strong religious connection.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Saintz can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This document mentions a landowner named Radulfus de Sancto, which translates to "Ralph of the Saint."
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the name Saintz appeared in various medieval records across Europe, with variations in spelling such as Sainct, Seintz, and Seyntz. These variations reflect the phonetic nature of spelling during that time period.
One notable individual with the surname Saintz was Jean Saintz, a French painter who lived from 1510 to 1576. He was renowned for his religious works and was commissioned to create several altarpieces for churches in Paris and its surrounding regions.
In England, the Saintz surname can be traced back to the 14th century, with records showing families residing in areas like Somerset and Gloucestershire. One prominent figure was Sir John Saintz, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was awarded lands in Wiltshire in the mid-1400s.
Another notable person with the Saintz surname was Pierre Saintz, a French explorer who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his voyages to the New World in the 1530s. He is credited with being one of the first Europeans to explore and document the St. Lawrence River region in what is now Canada.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Saintz name was also found in Spain and Portugal, where it was sometimes spelled as "Santos." This variation likely reflects the influence of the Portuguese and Spanish languages, as well as the strong religious ties associated with the name.
Throughout history, the Saintz surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including clergymen, artists, explorers, and landowners. While the spelling and pronunciation may have evolved over time, the name's connection to religious and sacred themes has remained a consistent thread.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saintz
Among Census respondents with the surname Saintz, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Saintz 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 Saintz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.5% · 116
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saintz
Saintz 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+14 bearers (+12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,029 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-6 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,076 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+12.6%) | Up 4,029 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 8,076 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 Saintz 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 | #134,712 | #142,788 | -6.0% |
| Count | 125 | 119 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saintz bearers went from 125 to 119 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 8,076 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #142,788.
FAQ
Saintz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saintz?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Saintz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Saintz?
Saintz ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Saintz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Saintz.
Has Saintz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saintz went from 125 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Saintz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saintz, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Saintz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saintz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Saintz (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 Saintz mean?
A surname derived from the French word for "saint," likely indicating an ancestor's religious devotion or residence near a saint's shrine. 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 Saintz (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 people are called Saintz?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Saintz, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.