2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sampair
A surname of possible Native American origin, potentially referring to a pair or couple.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Sampair. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sampair 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Sampair in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sampair, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sampair
The surname SAMPAIR has its origins in the Normandy region of northern France, where it first emerged in the 11th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French words "san" meaning "blood" and "per" meaning "peer" or "equal," possibly referring to a person of noble standing or a knight.
The earliest known record of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of English lands conducted by order of William the Conqueror. This document mentions a landowner named Reinald Samper, indicating the surname's presence in England shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
In the 13th century, the name SAMPAIR appeared in various medieval manuscripts and charters across Normandy and England. One notable example is a charter from 1285 that references a Richard Sampeyr, a landowner in the village of Farnham, Surrey.
The spelling of the name evolved over time, with variations such as Sampere, Sampier, and Sampaire being recorded in different regions. In some instances, the name was also associated with specific place names, such as the village of Sampyre in the Cotswolds region of England.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname SAMPAIR was Sir John Sampair, a prominent English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France in the 14th century (c. 1320-1390). Another notable figure was William Sampair, a merchant and alderman in the city of London during the late 15th century (c. 1450-1520).
During the 16th century, the SAMPAIR surname gained prominence in Scotland, where it was often spelled as Sampeir or Sampire. One notable Scot bearing this name was Robert Sampair, a philosopher and educator who taught at the University of Aberdeen in the mid-1500s (c. 1525-1590).
In the 17th century, the SAMPAIR surname can be found in various records from England and France. One example is Thomas Sampair, an English explorer and cartographer who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expeditions to the Americas in the early 1600s (c. 1580-1640).
Another notable figure was Marie-Anne Sampair, a French noblewoman and courtier at the court of King Louis XIV in the late 17th century (c. 1655-1725). She was known for her influential role in the cultural and artistic circles of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sampair
Among Census respondents with the surname Sampair, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Sampair 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 Sampair surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sampair
Sampair 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
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 730 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 730 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 Sampair 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 | #149,395 | #148,665 | 0.5% |
| Count | 110 | 111 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sampair bearers went from 110 to 111 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 730 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #148,665.
FAQ
Sampair surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sampair?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Sampair. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Sampair?
Sampair ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Sampair. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Sampair.
Has Sampair become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sampair went from 110 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Sampair?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sampair, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sampair in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sampair appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (6.3%), 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 Sampair (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 Sampair mean?
A surname of possible Native American origin, potentially referring to a pair or couple. 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 Sampair (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 common is the surname Sampair?
If you just want to know how many people are called Sampair, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.