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

Sandy, 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 Sandy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sandy in America

Sandy is the 5914th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sandy surname appeared 5,826 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 Sandy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sandy 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 Sandy

The surname Sandy originated in Scotland, deriving from the Old English word "sand" or "sandig" meaning "sandy" or "living near sand". It is a locational surname, referring to people who lived near sandy areas or sandy soil.

One of the earliest known records of the Sandy name dates back to the 13th century, where it appeared as "de Sandyacres" in the Renfrewshire region of Scotland. This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone living near or owning land with sandy acres.

In the 14th century, the Sandy surname appeared in various spellings such as "Sandys", "Sandis", and "Sande" in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, indicating its widespread use across the country.

The Sandy name has been linked to several notable historical figures, including Sir William Sandy (c.1470-1542), a Scottish landowner and courtier who served as the Provost of Edinburgh in the early 16th century.

Another prominent bearer of the Sandy surname was Sir Robert Sandy (1590-1668), an English antiquarian and historian who published several works on genealogy and heraldry.

In the 17th century, the Sandy name appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and properties in England at the time of the Norman Conquest. This entry suggests the name may have been present in England before spreading to Scotland.

Other notable individuals with the Sandy surname include John Sandy (1633-1681), an English clergyman and author, and William Sandy (1801-1868), a Scottish architect who designed several notable buildings in Glasgow.

Throughout its history, the Sandy surname has been associated with various places and locations, such as Sandyford in Renfrewshire, Scotland, and Sandy in Bedfordshire, England, both of which likely derived their names from the same linguistic roots as the surname itself.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sandy

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

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 Sandy 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 Sandy 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 Sandy was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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