2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Sandsmark
A toponymic surname originating from Scandinavia, likely indicating someone from a sandy area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Sandsmark. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sandsmark 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Sandsmark in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandsmark, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sandsmark
The surname Sandsmark has its origins in Norway, where it first emerged in the medieval period. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "sandr," meaning sand, and "mark," referring to a boundary or border, suggesting that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a sandy boundary or border area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sandsmark can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents dating back to the 13th century. In this collection, the name appears as "Sandzsmarck" in reference to a landowner in the region of Vestfold.
During the 16th century, the name Sandsmark appeared in various legal documents and parish records across Norway, with variations in spelling such as "Sandsmarcke" and "Sandsmarck." One notable bearer of the name was Hans Sandsmark, a merchant and ship owner born in Bergen in 1547, who played a significant role in the city's maritime trade.
In the 17th century, the Sandsmark name spread to other parts of Scandinavia, particularly Sweden and Denmark. A prominent figure with this surname was Jens Sandsmark, a Danish military officer who served in the Swedish army during the Scanian War (1675-1679) and later became the governor of Halland province in Sweden.
The 18th century saw the rise of several notable individuals with the Sandsmark surname. In Norway, Lars Sandsmark (1722-1795) was a respected theologian and author who served as the Bishop of Trondheim. In Sweden, Carl Sandsmark (1760-1823) was a successful businessman and industrialist who founded one of the country's earliest iron foundries.
Moving into the 19th century, the name Sandsmark continued to be associated with prominent figures, such as Nils Sandsmark (1812-1888), a Norwegian politician and member of the Storting (the Norwegian parliament). Another notable bearer was the Swedish author and poet Karin Sandsmark (1858-1932), whose works explored themes of feminism and social justice.
Throughout its history, the surname Sandsmark has retained its strong connections to its geographic origins, with many bearers of the name hailing from regions near sandy borders or coastal areas in Scandinavia. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over the centuries, its roots remain firmly grounded in the Nordic landscapes that gave it birth.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sandsmark
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandsmark, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Sandsmark 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 Sandsmark surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.2% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sandsmark
Sandsmark 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-13 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,562 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-5 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,734 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 20,562 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 4,734 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 Sandsmark 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 | #146,201 | #150,935 | -3.2% |
| Count | 113 | 108 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sandsmark bearers went from 113 to 108 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 4,734 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #150,935.
FAQ
Sandsmark surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sandsmark?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Sandsmark. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Sandsmark?
Sandsmark ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Sandsmark. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Sandsmark.
Has Sandsmark become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sandsmark went from 113 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Sandsmark?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandsmark, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) 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 Sandsmark in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.2% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sandsmark appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.2%), Hispanic (0.9%), 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 Sandsmark (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 Sandsmark mean?
A toponymic surname originating from Scandinavia, likely indicating someone from a sandy area. 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 Sandsmark (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 have the surname Sandsmark?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.