2000
#11,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,411
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Sartor
An occupational surname referring to a tailor, derived from the Latin word "sartor" meaning "patcher" or "mender."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,459 Americans carry the last name Sartor. That puts it at #13,554 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,388 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sartor 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
2.5K
1 in 139,388
Census rank
#13,554
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,144 bearers of the surname Sartor in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13554th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sartor, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sartor
The surname Sartor originated in England and is derived from the Old French word "sartor" meaning a tailor or maker of clothes. This occupational surname initially referred to someone who worked as a tailor or in a related trade involving clothing or textiles.
The earliest known record of the surname Sartor dates back to the 13th century in Oxfordshire, England. It is believed that the name may have first appeared in the village of Sarsden, also known as Sartor's Den or Sartor's Valley in old records. This place name connection suggests that some of the earliest bearers of the Sartor surname likely hailed from this area.
Historical references to individuals with the surname Sartor can be found in various medieval records and documents. For instance, the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from the year 1279, which were a series of administrative records compiled during the reign of King Edward I.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the Sartor surname is that of William Sartor, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1301. These records were financial accounts kept by the English Exchequer during the medieval period.
Another notable early bearer of the Sartor surname was John Sartor, a cloth merchant who lived in the city of Bristol in the late 14th century. Bristol was a major center of the wool and cloth trade during this time, which may explain the connection of the Sartor family to the textile industry.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family in Norfolk. One letter, dated 1472, mentions a person named Thomas Sartor who was involved in a legal dispute over property.
A more prominent figure with the Sartor surname was Erasmus Sartor, a English Protestant reformer and clergyman who lived from 1515 to 1583. He was a notable figure during the Reformation and served as a chaplain to King Edward VI.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, variations of the surname Sartor began to appear, such as Sarter, Sartor, Sauter, and Souter. These spelling variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistent nature of surname spellings before they became standardized.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sartor
Among Census respondents with the surname Sartor, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sartor 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 Sartor surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 1,650
- Black or African American14.2% · 305
- Two or more races4.0% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sartor
Sartor 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
#13,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,351
-60 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 1,168 places
2020
#13,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,144
-207 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 497 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,889 | 2,411 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,057 | 2,351 | 0.80 | -60 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 1,168 places |
| 2020 | #13,554 | 2,144 | 0.72 | -207 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 497 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 Sartor 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 | #13,057 | #13,554 | -3.8% |
| Count | 2,351 | 2,144 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.72 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sartor bearers went from 2,351 to 2,144 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 497 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,057 to #13,554.
FAQ
Sartor surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sartor?
Name Census estimates that about 2,459 living Americans carry the surname Sartor. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,388 residents.
How common is Sartor?
Sartor ranks #13,554 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 2,144 people with the surname Sartor. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,459), 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 Sartor.
Has Sartor become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sartor went from 2,351 recorded bearers to 2,144. That is a decrease of 207 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,057 to #13,554.
What does the Census say about the background of Sartor?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sartor, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (14.2%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Sartor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (1,650 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sartor appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.0%), Black (14.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Sartor (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 Sartor mean?
An occupational surname referring to a tailor, derived from the Latin word "sartor" meaning "patcher" or "mender." 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 Sartor (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 people have the last name Sartor?
Want to know how many people are called Sartor? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.