2000
#4,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,029
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.61
Rare Last name
Sasser
An occupational surname for a person who lived near or worked with a sluice or floodgate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,915 Americans carry the last name Sasser. That puts it at #4,947 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,304 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sasser 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
7.9K
1 in 43,304
Census rank
#4,947
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,902 bearers of the surname Sasser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4947th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sasser, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sasser
The surname Sasser is of Germanic origin, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the regions of present-day Germany and Switzerland, where it was initially spelled as "Sascher" or "Sässer".
The name Sasser is thought to be derived from the Old High German word "sasjo", which means "one who dwells". This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were likely inhabitants of a particular settlement or region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sasser can be found in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a 9th-century manuscript from the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The document mentions a person named "Sasso" who lived in the region during that time.
In the 11th century, the name appeared in the form "Sazzer" in the Hirsauer Codex, a collection of documents from the Benedictine monastery of Hirsau in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This suggests that the name had spread to different parts of the German-speaking regions by that time.
During the Middle Ages, the name Sasser was also associated with several places in Germany, such as the village of Sasbach in Baden-Württemberg and the town of Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. These place names likely influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Notable individuals with the surname Sasser throughout history include:
1. Johann Sasser (c. 1480-1556), a German Renaissance mathematician and astronomer from Nuremberg.
2. Hans Sasser (1543-1612), a Swiss painter and engraver from Basel.
3. Christoph Sasser (1570-1630), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg.
4. Johann Jakob Sasser (1716-1788), a Swiss physician and botanist from Zurich.
5. Karl Sasser (1878-1945), a German architect and urban planner from Berlin.
While the surname Sasser is not as common today as it once was in its regions of origin, it continues to be a part of the rich tapestry of German and Swiss family names, reflecting the diverse cultural heritage of these countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sasser
Among Census respondents with the surname Sasser, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sasser 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 Sasser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.9% · 5,790
- Black or African American8.0% · 552
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 252
- Two or more races3.5% · 245
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sasser
Sasser 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
#4,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,272
+243 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 2.47
Rank movement Down 232 places
2020
#4,947
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,902
-370 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.31
Rank movement Down 102 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,613 | 7,029 | 2.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,845 | 7,272 | 2.47 | +243 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 232 places |
| 2020 | #4,947 | 6,902 | 2.31 | -370 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 102 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 Sasser 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 | #4,845 | #4,947 | -2.1% |
| Count | 7,272 | 6,902 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.47 | 2.31 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sasser bearers went from 7,272 to 6,902 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 102 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,845 to #4,947.
FAQ
Sasser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sasser?
Name Census estimates that about 7,915 living Americans carry the surname Sasser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,304 residents.
How common is Sasser?
Sasser ranks #4,947 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,902 people with the surname Sasser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,915), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Sasser.
Has Sasser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sasser went from 7,272 recorded bearers to 6,902. That is a decrease of 370 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,845 to #4,947.
What does the Census say about the background of Sasser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sasser, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sasser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.9% (5,790 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sasser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.9%), Black (8.0%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Sasser (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 Sasser mean?
An occupational surname for a person who lived near or worked with a sluice or floodgate. 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 Sasser (2.31 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 Sasser?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Sasser is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.