2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sangren
A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "sand ridge" or "sandy ground."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Sangren. 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 Sangren 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 Sangren 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 Sangren, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sangren
The surname Sangren is of Swedish origin and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "sanngrǫnn," which means "evergreen" or "perennial." This surname was likely given to someone who lived near an evergreen forest or had a close association with evergreen trees.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sangren can be found in the parish records of Västergötland, a historical province in southwestern Sweden. In 1598, a man named Lars Sangren was mentioned in the records as a resident of the village of Kinne-Kleva.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Sangren surname was predominantly concentrated in the Swedish provinces of Västergötland, Värmland, and Dalarna. These were heavily forested regions, which further supports the theory of the name's connection to evergreen trees.
In the early 19th century, a notable figure with the surname Sangren was Anders Sangren (1784-1862), a Swedish lawyer and politician from Värmland. He served as a member of the Riksdag, the national legislature of Sweden, during the early part of the century.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Carl Sangren (1846-1914), a Swedish-American businessman and entrepreneur. He immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and established a successful lumber company in Minnesota, capitalizing on the abundant forests of the region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Sangren surname in North America dates back to 1867, when a man named Johan Sangren arrived in New York City from Sweden. He eventually settled in Illinois and worked as a farmer.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, several place names in Sweden contained variations of the Sangren surname, such as Sangrenshult and Sangrenska. These place names likely derived from individuals with the Sangren surname who lived in or owned land in those areas.
Other notable individuals with the Sangren surname include:
1. Erik Sangren (1892-1965), a Swedish-American author and professor of Scandinavian literature.
2. Ingrid Sangren (1918-2001), a Swedish actress and singer known for her performances in the mid-20th century.
3. Nils Sangren (1872-1944), a Swedish-American businessman and philanthropist who helped establish several hospitals and educational institutions in Minnesota.
4. Karin Sangren (1921-2008), a Swedish artist and sculptor renowned for her abstract and modern works.
5. Gustav Sangren (1889-1974), a Swedish-American architect who designed several notable buildings in the Midwestern United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sangren
Among Census respondents with the surname Sangren, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sangren 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 Sangren surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sangren
Sangren 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,120 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,778 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 6,120 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 10,778 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 Sangren 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 | #140,157 | #150,935 | -7.7% |
| Count | 119 | 108 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sangren bearers went from 119 to 108 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 10,778 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #150,935.
FAQ
Sangren surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sangren?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Sangren. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Sangren?
Sangren 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 Sangren. 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 Sangren.
Has Sangren become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sangren went from 119 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Sangren?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sangren, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Sangren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sangren appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Sangren (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 Sangren mean?
A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "sand ridge" or "sandy ground." 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 Sangren (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 share the surname Sangren?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.