Find out how popular the last name Sand is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sand.

Sand, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sand surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sand in America

Sand is the 6974th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sand surname appeared 4,810 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Sand.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sand to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sand

The surname Sand has its origins in various parts of northern Europe. It is thought to have originated as an occupational name, referring to someone who lived near sand or worked with sand, such as a sand merchant or glass maker.

In England, the name can be traced back to the 13th century, with early recordings including William de la Sand in Norfolk in 1275 and John del Sande in Yorkshire in 1379. These early spellings suggest the name was originally a topographic description or a placename derived from Old English or Anglo-Norman French words meaning "sand" or "sandy area".

In Germany and Scandinavia, the name Sand is believed to have emerged as a topographic surname describing someone who lived near sandy soil or a sandy region. Early examples include Henric van dem Sande in Hamburg in 1292 and Olaus Sandh in Sweden in 1539.

The Sand surname is also found in the Netherlands, where it may have originated as a habitational name for someone from a place called Sand or Zand. Dirck Willemsz Zant was recorded in Haarlem in 1622.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Sand name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a tenant named Radulfus de Sands in Staffordshire, England. Other notable historical figures include the German theologian Martin Sand (1560-1608) and the English diplomat Sir William Sandys (1470-1540).

Other bearers of the Sand surname throughout history include the Swedish naval officer Fredrik Wilhelm von Sand (1774-1853), the German assassin Karl Ludwig Sand (1795-1820), the Norwegian painter Amaldus Nielsen Sand (1838-1897), and the American author George Sand (real name Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, 1804-1876), who took her pen name from her grandmother's surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sand

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sand.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sand was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sand has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sand was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sand, please contact us.

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