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

Sankoh, 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 Sankoh surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sankoh in America

Sankoh is the 56444th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sankoh surname appeared 362 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sankoh.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sankoh 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 Sankoh

The surname Sankoh finds its origins in West Africa, specifically in the region now known as Sierra Leone. It is believed to have emerged during the 15th century, initially derived from the Temne language spoken by the ethnic group of the same name.

Sankoh is thought to be a combination of two words – "san" meaning "warrior" and "koh" signifying "leader" or "chief." This suggests that the name was originally bestowed upon individuals who held positions of authority and commanded respect within their communities.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the Sankoh surname can be traced back to the late 17th century, when European explorers and traders began documenting their encounters with the Temne people. In particular, the diaries of Portuguese merchants make reference to a chief named Sankoh who ruled over a prominent village in the northern region of Sierra Leone.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Sankoh name appeared in various British colonial records, as Sierra Leone became a colony and center of the abolition movement. One notable figure from this period was Bai Sankoh Bana, a Temne chief who allied with the British and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Colony of Sierra Leone in the late 1700s.

As the centuries progressed, the Sankoh name spread beyond its original homeland, carried by individuals who migrated to other parts of Africa and eventually to other continents. Among the notable bearers of this surname was Foday Sankoh, a former Sierra Leonean revolutionary and the founder of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), born in 1937 and who passed away in 2003.

Another prominent figure was Alhaji Sankoh, a influential politician and businessman from Sierra Leone who served as a Member of Parliament and played a significant role in the country's affairs during the late 20th century.

In more recent times, the name Sankoh has been associated with individuals such as Ishmael Sankoh, a Sierra Leonean footballer who has represented his country on the international stage, and Tamba Sankoh, a Sierra Leonean-American writer and poet whose works explore themes of identity and displacement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sankoh

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

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

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

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