2000
#43,463
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 468
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Saxer
A topographer or surveyor, derived from the German word "sax" meaning rock or stone.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 573 Americans carry the last name Saxer. That puts it at #45,998 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 598,175 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saxer 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
573
1 in 598,175
Census rank
#45,998
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
500
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 500 bearers of the surname Saxer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 45998th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saxer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saxer
The surname Saxer is believed to have originated in Germany. It is derived from the German word 'Sachse', which means 'Saxon'. The Saxons were a Germanic tribe that inhabited the region of modern-day northern Germany and the Netherlands during the medieval period.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Saxer can be traced back to the 13th century. In 1274, a certain Henrich Saxer was mentioned in official records from the town of Erfurt, located in the central German state of Thuringia. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time, likely among families with ancestral ties to the Saxon regions.
In the late 14th century, the name Saxer appeared in the Stadtbuch (city book) of Cologne, a historical document that recorded the names of citizens and events in the city. This provides evidence that individuals bearing the surname had settled in the Rhineland region of western Germany.
During the 16th century, Johannes Saxer, a Protestant theologian and reformer, gained recognition for his religious writings and sermons. He was born in 1506 in the town of Zwickau, located in the present-day German state of Saxony.
The Saxer surname also found its way into the historical records of Switzerland. In the 17th century, a family by the name of Saxer resided in the city of Zurich. One notable member was Hans Konrad Saxer, a merchant and city councillor who lived from 1632 to 1698.
Another prominent figure with the surname Saxer was Johann Jakob Saxer, a Swiss painter born in 1716 in the city of Winterthur. He was known for his landscapes and portraits, and his works can be found in various museums and galleries across Switzerland.
Over the centuries, variations of the surname emerged, including Saxxer, Saxser, and Saxener. These alternative spellings were likely influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of individual families or scribes who recorded the names.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saxer
Among Census respondents with the surname Saxer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Saxer 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 Saxer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 456
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 24
- Two or more races3.2% · 16
- Black or African American0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saxer
Saxer 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
#44,730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 480
+12 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 1,267 places
2020
#45,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 500
+20 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 1,268 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,463 | 468 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,730 | 480 | 0.16 | +12 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 1,267 places |
| 2020 | #45,998 | 500 | 0.17 | +20 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 1,268 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 Saxer 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 | #44,730 | #45,998 | -2.8% |
| Count | 480 | 500 | 4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.17 | 4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saxer bearers went from 480 to 500 (+4.2% change). The surname moved down 1,268 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,730 to #45,998.
FAQ
Saxer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saxer?
Name Census estimates that about 573 living Americans carry the surname Saxer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 598,175 residents.
How common is Saxer?
Saxer ranks #45,998 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 500 people with the surname Saxer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (573), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Saxer.
Has Saxer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saxer went from 480 recorded bearers to 500. That is an increase of 20 (+4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #44,730 to #45,998.
What does the Census say about the background of Saxer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saxer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Saxer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (456 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saxer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Hispanic (4.8%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Saxer (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 Saxer mean?
A topographer or surveyor, derived from the German word "sax" meaning rock or stone. 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 Saxer (0.17 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 are called Saxer?
Find out how many people have the surname Saxer on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.