2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sargen
A North German surname originating from a place name meaning "sour marsh".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Sargen. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sargen 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Sargen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sargen, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sargen
The surname SARGEN is believed to have originated in Germany during the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "sarg," meaning a coffin or sarcophagus. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who made coffins or worked in a related field.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SARGEN can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents and records from Saxony, dating back to the year 1195. The document mentions a "Johannes Sargen" who was a carpenter living in the town of Merseburg.
In the 14th century, the SARGEN name appeared in the Stadtbücher of Nuremberg, which were municipal records kept by the city's governing council. These records list a "Hans Sargen" who was a merchant and guild member in Nuremberg in the year 1372.
During the 15th century, the name SARGEN appeared in various church records and documents across different regions of Germany. One notable mention is in the baptismal records of the St. Sebald Church in Nuremberg, where a "Konrad Sargen" was listed as the father of a child baptized in 1489.
In the 16th century, the name SARGEN gained some prominence with the birth of Johann Sargen (1510-1580), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial navigation. He was born in the town of Wittenberg and worked closely with notable figures such as Philipp Melanchthon and Johannes Kepler.
Another notable individual with the SARGEN surname was Christoph Sargen (1578-1647), a German Lutheran theologian and author who served as a professor of divinity at the University of Wittenberg. He wrote several influential works on theology and religious doctrine during his lifetime.
In the 17th century, the SARGEN name appeared in various records and documents throughout the German states, indicating its continued use and presence in the region. One example is the mention of a "Georg Sargen" in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Quedlinburg in 1625.
As the centuries passed, the SARGEN surname spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by individuals and families who migrated from their ancestral homelands. However, its roots and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the medieval period in Germany, where it originated as a name closely tied to the occupation of coffin-making or a related craft.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sargen
Among Census respondents with the surname Sargen, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sargen 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 Sargen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino12.5% · 14
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sargen
Sargen appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+7 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,953 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.7%) | Up 6,953 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 Sargen 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 | #154,907 | #147,954 | 4.5% |
| Count | 105 | 112 | 6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sargen bearers went from 105 to 112 (+6.7% change). The surname moved up 6,953 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #147,954.
FAQ
Sargen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sargen?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Sargen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Sargen?
Sargen ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Sargen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Sargen.
Has Sargen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sargen went from 105 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 7 (+6.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Sargen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sargen, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.5%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Sargen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sargen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Hispanic (12.5%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Sargen (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 Sargen mean?
A North German surname originating from a place name meaning "sour marsh". 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 Sargen (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 Sargen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.