2000
#25,695
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 901
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.33
Very Rare Last name
Sandin
A surname derived from the Swedish words "sand" meaning "sand" and "in" meaning "on," likely referring to someone who lived near sandy land or a beach.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 901 Americans carry the last name Sandin. That puts it at #31,542 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 380,415 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sandin 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
901
1 in 380,415
Census rank
#31,542
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
786
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 786 bearers of the surname Sandin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 31542nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandin, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sandin
The surname Sandin has its roots in Sweden, where it originated as a patronymic name derived from the personal name Sand or Sande. The name is believed to have emerged around the 13th or 14th century during the Middle Ages.
Sandin is a Swedish habitational name, indicating that the bearer or their ancestors lived near or came from a place called Sand or Sande. These places were likely named after sandy soil or sandy areas, as the Swedish word "sand" means "sand."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Swedish church records from the late 16th century. In 1589, a man named Olof Sandin was mentioned in the parish records of Värmland, a historical province in west-central Sweden.
The name Sandin has also been associated with various place names in Sweden, such as Sandvik, Sandbäcken, and Sandtorp. These places may have influenced the development of the surname or provided a basis for its formation.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Sandin. One of the earliest was Nils Sandin (1622-1694), a Swedish clergyman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Västerås from 1679 until his death.
Another prominent figure was Carl Fredrik Sandin (1796-1865), a Swedish politician and landowner who served as the County Governor of Västmanland from 1840 to 1865.
In the field of literature, Ivar Sandin (1885-1960) was a Swedish author and poet known for his works depicting rural life in Västergötland. He was a member of the Swedish Academy and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1952.
Rut Sandin (1923-2000) was a Swedish actress who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career, including the popular Swedish crime series Beck.
More recently, Johan Sandin (born 1979) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who has played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for several teams, including the Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sandin
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandin, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sandin 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 Sandin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 622
- Hispanic or Latino16.5% · 130
- Two or more races2.5% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 8
- Black or African American0.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sandin
Sandin 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
#22,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,178
+277 bearers (+30.7%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Up 3,683 places
2020
#31,542
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 786
-392 bearers (-33.3%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Down 9,530 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,695 | 901 | 0.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #22,012 | 1,178 | 0.40 | +277 bearers (+30.7%) | Up 3,683 places |
| 2020 | #31,542 | 786 | 0.26 | -392 bearers (-33.3%) | Down 9,530 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 Sandin 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 | #22,012 | #31,542 | -43.3% |
| Count | 1,178 | 786 | -33.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.40 | 0.26 | -34.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sandin bearers went from 1,178 to 786 (-33.3% change). The surname moved down 9,530 positions in the national ranking, going from #22,012 to #31,542.
FAQ
Sandin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sandin?
Name Census estimates that about 901 living Americans carry the surname Sandin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 380,415 residents.
How common is Sandin?
Sandin ranks #31,542 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.26 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 786 people with the surname Sandin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (901), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.26 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 Sandin.
Has Sandin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sandin went from 1,178 recorded bearers to 786. That is a decrease of 392 (-33.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #22,012 to #31,542.
What does the Census say about the background of Sandin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandin, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and 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 Sandin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (622 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sandin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Hispanic (16.5%), 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 Sandin (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 Sandin mean?
A surname derived from the Swedish words "sand" meaning "sand" and "in" meaning "on," likely referring to someone who lived near sandy land or a beach. 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 Sandin (0.26 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 Sandin?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Sandin, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.