2000
#4,007
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.02
Rare Last name
Sammons
Derived from the given name Samuel, meaning "God has heard" or "name of God" in Hebrew.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,943 Americans carry the last name Sammons. That puts it at #4,406 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,327 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sammons 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sammons with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.9K
1 in 38,327
Census rank
#4,406
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,799 bearers of the surname Sammons in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4406th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sammons, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sammons
The surname Sammons has its origins in England, tracing back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English personal name "Sammon," which itself stems from the ancient Germanic name "Samo" or "Samand." This name may have originally been a nickname referring to a person's stature or physical attributes.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Sammons can be found in various English parish records dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Some of the earliest examples include Robert Sammon, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1327, and John Sammons, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset in 1392.
The Sammons surname is closely linked to the historic county of Somerset in the southwest of England, where it is thought to have originated. It is also found in other parts of the country, such as Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, suggesting the migration of families bearing this name over time.
In the 16th century, the Sammons name appeared in the records of the parish of Westbury-on-Trym in Gloucestershire. Notably, a William Sammons was listed as a landowner in the area during this period.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Sammons surname was John Sammons, born in Somerset around 1580. He was a prominent figure in the local community and served as a church warden in the village of Camerton.
Another notable bearer of the Sammons name was Richard Sammons, a merchant and ship owner from Bristol, who lived from 1620 to 1687. He was involved in the lucrative transatlantic trade and owned several vessels that sailed between England and the American colonies.
In the 18th century, the Sammons name was associated with the village of Kilmersdon in Somerset. Thomas Sammons, born in 1714, was a respected farmer and landowner in the area.
During the 19th century, several members of the Sammons family were involved in the coal mining industry in the Somerset coalfields. One such individual was William Sammons, born in 1825, who worked as a collier in the town of Radstock.
Another prominent figure with the Sammons surname was Robert Sammons, a Baptist minister who lived from 1810 to 1879. He served as the pastor of several churches in Somerset and was known for his influential sermons and writings.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sammons
Among Census respondents with the surname Sammons, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Sammons 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 Sammons surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 6,772
- Black or African American4.7% · 365
- Two or more races4.2% · 329
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 213
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sammons
Sammons 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
#4,352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,161
+27 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 2.77
Rank movement Down 345 places
2020
#4,406
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,799
-362 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,007 | 8,134 | 3.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,352 | 8,161 | 2.77 | +27 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 345 places |
| 2020 | #4,406 | 7,799 | 2.61 | -362 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 54 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 Sammons 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 | #4,352 | #4,406 | -1.2% |
| Count | 8,161 | 7,799 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.77 | 2.61 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sammons bearers went from 8,161 to 7,799 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,352 to #4,406.
FAQ
Sammons surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sammons?
Name Census estimates that about 8,943 living Americans carry the surname Sammons. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,327 residents.
How common is Sammons?
Sammons ranks #4,406 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,799 people with the surname Sammons. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,943), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Sammons.
Has Sammons become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sammons went from 8,161 recorded bearers to 7,799. That is a decrease of 362 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,352 to #4,406.
What does the Census say about the background of Sammons?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sammons, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Sammons in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (6,772 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sammons appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Black (4.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Sammons (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 Sammons mean?
Derived from the given name Samuel, meaning "God has heard" or "name of God" in Hebrew. 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 Sammons (2.61 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 Sammons?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.