2000
#13,386
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,087
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Sanson
A French occupational surname referring to someone who gathered or sold sawdust, derived from the Old French "sanc(e)."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,357 Americans carry the last name Sanson. That puts it at #14,034 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 145,420 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sanson 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 Sanson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 145,420
Census rank
#14,034
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,055 bearers of the surname Sanson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14034th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.5%) and Black (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sanson
The surname Sanson is of French origin, derived from the personal name Samson, which is itself a biblical name meaning "sun". The name can be traced back to the 12th century in the region of Normandy, France.
In medieval records, the name appears with various spellings such as Sanson, Sanxon, and Sanchon. It is believed that the name was originally a nickname given to someone with a sun-like appearance or disposition, perhaps referring to a person with a particularly radiant or sunny personality.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sanson can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as Sanson de Brienon, referring to a landowner in the region of Brienon, Normandy.
During the Middle Ages, the name Sanson was particularly prevalent in the areas of Normandy and Île-de-France, but it also spread to other regions of France as families migrated and established themselves in different parts of the country.
Notable figures with the surname Sanson include:
1. Nicolas Sanson (1600-1667), a French cartographer and geographer who is considered the founder of the French school of cartography.
2. Jacques Sanson (1592-1670), a French theologian and professor of theology at the University of Paris.
3. Guillaume Sanson (1633-1703), a French cartographer and the son of Nicolas Sanson, who continued his father's legacy in mapmaking.
4. Nicolas Sanson d'Abbeville (1600-1667), a French geographer and the brother of Nicolas Sanson, who published several atlases and maps.
5. Jean-Baptiste Sanson (1651-1718), a French lawyer and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Parliament of Paris.
While the name Sanson is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of French heritage and can be found among families with roots in Normandy and other regions of France where the name has historical significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sanson
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.5%) and Black (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Sanson 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 Sanson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.8% · 1,393
- Hispanic or Latino19.5% · 400
- Black or African American5.2% · 106
- Two or more races4.0% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sanson
Sanson 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
#12,931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,376
+289 bearers (+13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 455 places
2020
#14,034
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,055
-321 bearers (-13.5%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 1,103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,386 | 2,087 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,931 | 2,376 | 0.81 | +289 bearers (+13.8%) | Up 455 places |
| 2020 | #14,034 | 2,055 | 0.69 | -321 bearers (-13.5%) | Down 1,103 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 Sanson 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 | #12,931 | #14,034 | -8.5% |
| Count | 2,376 | 2,055 | -13.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.69 | -15.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sanson bearers went from 2,376 to 2,055 (-13.5% change). The surname moved down 1,103 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,931 to #14,034.
FAQ
Sanson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sanson?
Name Census estimates that about 2,357 living Americans carry the surname Sanson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 145,420 residents.
How common is Sanson?
Sanson ranks #14,034 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,055 people with the surname Sanson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Sanson.
Has Sanson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sanson went from 2,376 recorded bearers to 2,055. That is a decrease of 321 (-13.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,931 to #14,034.
What does the Census say about the background of Sanson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanson, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.5%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Sanson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.8% (1,393 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sanson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.8%), Hispanic (19.5%), Black (5.2%). 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 Sanson (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 Sanson mean?
A French occupational surname referring to someone who gathered or sold sawdust, derived from the Old French "sanc(e)." 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 Sanson (0.69 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 Sanson?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.