2000
#5,621
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,663
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.10
Rare Last name
Sandy
A surname derived from a place name or a nickname referring to someone who lived on sandy soil.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,341 Americans carry the last name Sandy. That puts it at #5,994 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 54,054 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sandy 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sandy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.3K
1 in 54,054
Census rank
#5,994
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,530 bearers of the surname Sandy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5994th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandy, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sandy
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandy, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Sandy 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 Sandy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.4% · 3,895
- Black or African American17.9% · 989
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 255
- Two or more races4.0% · 221
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 89
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 81
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sandy
Sandy 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
#5,914
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,826
+163 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.98
Rank movement Down 293 places
2020
#5,994
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,530
-296 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 1.85
Rank movement Down 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,621 | 5,663 | 2.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,914 | 5,826 | 1.98 | +163 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 293 places |
| 2020 | #5,994 | 5,530 | 1.85 | -296 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 80 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 Sandy 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 | #5,914 | #5,994 | -1.4% |
| Count | 5,826 | 5,530 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.98 | 1.85 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sandy bearers went from 5,826 to 5,530 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,914 to #5,994.
FAQ
Sandy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sandy?
Name Census estimates that about 6,341 living Americans carry the surname Sandy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 54,054 residents.
How common is Sandy?
Sandy ranks #5,994 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,530 people with the surname Sandy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,341), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Sandy.
Has Sandy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sandy went from 5,826 recorded bearers to 5,530. That is a decrease of 296 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,914 to #5,994.
What does the Census say about the background of Sandy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sandy, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Sandy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.4% (3,895 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sandy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.4%), Black (17.9%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Sandy (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 Sandy mean?
A surname derived from a place name or a nickname referring to someone who lived on sandy soil. 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 Sandy (1.85 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 last name Sandy?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Sandy on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.