2000
#17,203
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,518
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.56
Rare Last name
Sanz
A surname of Spanish origin meaning "holy", "saintly", or "good".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,456 Americans carry the last name Sanz. That puts it at #13,561 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,558 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sanz 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 Sanz with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 139,558
Census rank
#13,561
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,142 bearers of the surname Sanz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13561st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.5%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sanz
The surname "Sanz" is of Spanish origin, derived from the medieval Spanish given name "Sancho", which itself comes from the Latin name "Sanctius", meaning "holy" or "saintly". The name was first recorded in the 9th century in the Kingdom of Navarre, located in the northern region of the Iberian Peninsula.
The earliest known bearer of the name was Sancho Garcés I, King of Navarre from 905 to 925 AD. The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Navarre, Aragon, and Castile during the Middle Ages, as evidenced by its appearance in various historical documents and records from that time.
In the 11th century, the Sanz surname is mentioned in the Codex Calixtinus, a medieval manuscript containing the first recorded accounts of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, known as the Camino de Santiago. The surname is also found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century manuscript that documented the ownership of land and property in Castile.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Sanz was Pedro Sanz de Vizmanos, a nobleman and military commander who fought alongside King Alfonso VIII of Castile in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, a pivotal victory for the Christian forces against the Almohads.
Another notable bearer of the name was Rodrigo Sanz de Viteri, a 13th-century Spanish prelate who served as the Archbishop of Toledo from 1209 to 1224. He played a significant role in the consolidation of the Reconquista and the expansion of Christian rule in the Iberian Peninsula.
In the 15th century, Juan Sanz de Muñón was a prominent Spanish sculptor and architect who worked on several notable projects, including the Cathedral of Burgos and the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo.
During the 16th century, Alonso Sanz, a Spanish painter and engraver, gained recognition for his works, particularly his engravings of religious subjects and portraits. He was active in Madrid and is considered one of the most important Spanish engravers of the Renaissance period.
In the 19th century, Eulogio Florentino Sanz, a Spanish writer and journalist, made significant contributions to the development of the Spanish press and literature. He was born in 1823 and is known for his novels, poetry, and articles on social and political issues of his time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sanz
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.5%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sanz 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 Sanz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino75.5% · 1,617
- White19.1% · 410
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 58
- Black or African American2.3% · 49
- Two or more races0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sanz
Sanz 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
#15,777
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,847
+329 bearers (+21.7%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 1,426 places
2020
#13,561
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,142
+295 bearers (+16.0%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 2,216 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,203 | 1,518 | 0.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,777 | 1,847 | 0.63 | +329 bearers (+21.7%) | Up 1,426 places |
| 2020 | #13,561 | 2,142 | 0.72 | +295 bearers (+16.0%) | Up 2,216 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 Sanz 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 | #15,777 | #13,561 | 14.0% |
| Count | 1,847 | 2,142 | 16.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.72 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sanz bearers went from 1,847 to 2,142 (+16.0% change). The surname moved up 2,216 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,777 to #13,561.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sanz
FAQ
Sanz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sanz?
Name Census estimates that about 2,456 living Americans carry the surname Sanz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,558 residents.
How common is Sanz?
Sanz ranks #13,561 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,142 people with the surname Sanz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,456), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Sanz.
Has Sanz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sanz went from 1,847 recorded bearers to 2,142. That is an increase of 295 (+16.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,777 to #13,561.
What does the Census say about the background of Sanz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanz, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.5%. The next largest groups are White (19.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sanz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.5% (1,617 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sanz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (75.5%), White (19.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Sanz (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 Sanz mean?
A surname of Spanish origin meaning "holy", "saintly", or "good". 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 Sanz (0.72 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 Americans have the surname Sanz?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.