2010
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sasher
A surname with possible origins from the Hebrew word "shashar" meaning "morning breeze" or "dawn."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Sasher. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sasher 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Sasher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sasher, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sasher
The surname Sasher is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, Germany in the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old High German word 'sahs' which means 'Saxon' or 'knife'. The name was likely given to someone who either lived in the Saxon region or worked as a knife maker or seller.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the former Principality of Anhalt, which mentions a 'Conradus Sasher' in the year 1230. The name also appears in the Annales Pegavienses, a medieval chronicle from the town of Pegau, where a 'Henricus Sasher' is mentioned in an entry dated 1278.
During the 13th century, the Sasher family is believed to have resided in the town of Sasseritz, located in the present-day state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town's name is likely derived from the same Old High German root, suggesting a connection between the surname and the place name.
One notable bearer of the Sasher surname was Johannes Sasher, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1482 to 1558. He was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation and served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg, where he taught alongside Martin Luther.
In the 16th century, the name appears in records from the city of Lübeck, where a merchant named Hans Sasher is mentioned in a trade document from 1542. Another notable figure was Christoph Sasher, a renowned clockmaker who lived in Augsburg, Germany from 1549 to 1621.
As the Sasher family migrated across Europe, variations of the name emerged, such as Sascher, Sacher, and Sastre. One notable bearer of the latter variation was Gaspar Sastre, a Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous circumnavigation of the globe in the early 16th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sasher
Among Census respondents with the surname Sasher, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sasher 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 Sasher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.9% · 97
- Black or African American7.7% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 8
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sasher
Sasher 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
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 950 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 950 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 Sasher 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 | #145,220 | #144,270 | 0.7% |
| Count | 114 | 117 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sasher bearers went from 114 to 117 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 950 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #144,270.
FAQ
Sasher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sasher?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Sasher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Sasher?
Sasher ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Sasher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Sasher.
Has Sasher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sasher went from 114 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 3 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #145,220 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Sasher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sasher, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.8%). 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 Sasher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.9% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sasher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.9%), Black (7.7%), Hispanic (6.8%). 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 Sasher (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 Sasher mean?
A surname with possible origins from the Hebrew word "shashar" meaning "morning breeze" or "dawn." 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 Sasher (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 Americans have the surname Sasher?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.