Find out how popular the last name Sayers is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sayers.

Sayers, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sayers surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sayers in America

Sayers is the 4603rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sayers surname appeared 7,705 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Sayers.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sayers to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sayers

The surname Sayers originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "sayer", which means "woodcutter" or "sawyer". This occupation-based surname was likely given to someone who worked as a sawyer or woodcutter.

Sayers is an Anglo-Norman surname that first appeared in records after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The earliest recorded mention of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Saiur".

In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "Sayer", "Sayere", and "Seyere". These variations were a result of the inconsistent spelling practices of the time. The surname was also associated with certain place names, such as Sawyers Hill in Gloucestershire and Sawyers in Hampshire.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Sayers surname was John Sayers, who was born in Oxfordshire in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was William Sayers, a merchant from London who lived during the reign of King Edward III in the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the Sayers family had a strong presence in the county of Yorkshire. Sir Ralph Sayers, born in 1532, was a prominent landowner and served as a Member of Parliament for Ripon.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, a Royalist soldier named Thomas Sayers gained recognition for his bravery in battle. He was born in Warwickshire in 1620 and fought alongside King Charles I's forces.

In the 19th century, James Sayers, born in 1797 in London, became a renowned bare-knuckle boxer and was known as the "Champion of England" during his prime.

Other notable individuals with the Sayers surname include the American writer Dorothy L. Sayers, born in 1893, who is best known for her Lord Peter Wimsey mystery novels, and the English cricketer Ted Sayers, born in 1884, who played for Somerset County Cricket Club.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sayers

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sayers.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sayers was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sayers has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sayers was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sayers, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!