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

Sanger, 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 Sanger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sanger in America

Sanger is the 8787th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sanger surname appeared 3,732 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sanger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sanger 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 Sanger

The surname Sanger has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the German word "sanger," which means "singer" or "minstrel." The name likely originated from a nickname given to a person who was a professional singer or entertainer during the Middle Ages.

In the early medieval period, the name was often spelled as "Senger" or "Sengere." It is believed that the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various Germanic records and manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries, although specific references are scarce due to the age of these documents.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johannes Sanger, a musician and composer who lived in the late 15th century in Nuremberg, Germany. He is noted for his contributions to the development of early Renaissance music.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Sanger became more widespread throughout Germany and neighboring regions. It was sometimes associated with certain towns or villages, leading to variations such as "Sangerhausen" or "Sangershausen," which referred to places where singers or minstrels were known to reside.

In the 18th century, a prominent figure bearing the name Sanger was Johann Sanger, a German composer and organist who lived from 1719 to 1788. He was renowned for his compositions for the organ and his work as a church musician in various cities across Germany.

Another notable individual with the surname Sanger was Margaret Higgins Sanger, an American birth control activist and sex educator who lived from 1879 to 1966. She played a pivotal role in the establishment of the modern birth control movement and the founding of the organization that later became Planned Parenthood.

In the 20th century, Walter Sanger, a British writer and journalist born in 1890, gained recognition for his works on English literature and his biographies of famous authors. He was also a noted critic and served as the president of the English Association from 1948 to 1950.

Frederick Sanger, a British biochemist born in 1918, was a pioneering figure in the field of molecular biology. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice, in 1958 and 1980, for his groundbreaking work on the structure of proteins and the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids.

Throughout its history, the surname Sanger has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including musicians, composers, activists, writers, and scientists, reflecting its diverse origins and the versatility of those who have borne this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sanger

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

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

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

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