2000
#1,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,387
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.64
Uncommon Last name
Sears
An occupational surname for someone who worked as a tailor, dressmaker, or armorer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 35,343 Americans carry the last name Sears. That puts it at #1,117 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sears 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sears with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
35K
1 in 9,698
Census rank
#1,117
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 30,821 bearers of the surname Sears in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1117th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sears, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sears
The surname Sears is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "sear," meaning dry or withered. It was originally an occupational name for someone who made or sold dry goods.
Sears is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Saier" in the county of Oxfordshire. In the 13th century, the name appears as "le Sers" in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire.
The earliest known bearer of the name was John le Sers, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1230. Another early reference is William le Seer, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
The name Sears is also found in various place names, such as Sears Green in Essex, which was originally recorded as "Seresgrene" in 1320. Another example is Sears Fold in Lancashire, which was known as "Seresfold" in 1322.
Notable individuals with the surname Sears include Richard Sears (1863-1914), the American businessman who founded the Sears, Roebuck and Company retail corporation. George Franklin Sears (1821-1890) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Mississippi.
Other historical figures with the Sears name include Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810-1876), an American Unitarian minister and author who wrote the popular Christmas carol "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." Isaac Sears (1730-1786) was an American merchant and political activist who played a prominent role in the American Revolution.
Thomas Sears (1805-1888) was an English astronomer and meteorologist who made significant contributions to the study of comets and meteors. He was a founding member of the Royal Astronomical Society in London.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sears
Among Census respondents with the surname Sears, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Sears 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 Sears surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.1% · 24,677
- Black or African American10.9% · 3,369
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,275
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,006
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 252
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 242
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sears
Sears 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
#1,085
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,206
+819 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 10.92
Rank movement Down 66 places
2020
#1,117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,821
-1,385 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 10.31
Rank movement Down 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,019 | 31,387 | 11.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,085 | 32,206 | 10.92 | +819 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 66 places |
| 2020 | #1,117 | 30,821 | 10.31 | -1,385 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 32 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 Sears 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 | #1,085 | #1,117 | -2.9% |
| Count | 32,206 | 30,821 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 10.92 | 10.31 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sears bearers went from 32,206 to 30,821 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,085 to #1,117.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sears
FAQ
Sears surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sears?
Name Census estimates that about 35,343 living Americans carry the surname Sears. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,698 residents.
How common is Sears?
Sears ranks #1,117 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 30,821 people with the surname Sears. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (35,343), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Sears.
Has Sears become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sears went from 32,206 recorded bearers to 30,821. That is a decrease of 1,385 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,085 to #1,117.
What does the Census say about the background of Sears?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sears, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Sears in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (24,677 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sears appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.1%), Black (10.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Sears (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 Sears mean?
An occupational surname for someone who worked as a tailor, dressmaker, or armorer. 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 Sears (10.31 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 Americans have the surname Sears?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.