2000
#13,931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,986
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Secrist
A German occupational surname denoting a sacristan or sexton, a person who maintains a church and its sacred objects.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,290 Americans carry the last name Secrist. That puts it at #14,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,674 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Secrist 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
2.3K
1 in 149,674
Census rank
#14,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,997 bearers of the surname Secrist in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Secrist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Secrist
The surname Secrist originates from Germany, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Sekret," which means "secretary" or "clerk." This suggests that the name was likely initially given to someone who held a secretarial or clerical position.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Secrist can be found in the parish records of Wittenberg, Germany, dating back to the late 1500s. In these records, a family by the name of Secrist is mentioned as residing in the area.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Secrist name began to spread across various regions of Germany, with families bearing this surname appearing in records from cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne. Some variations in the spelling of the name, such as Seckrist and Seckrist, also emerged during this period.
In the early 19th century, a notable figure bearing the Secrist surname was Johann Friedrich Secrist (1788-1863), a German theologian and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of biblical exegesis.
As German immigration to the United States increased in the 19th century, many families with the Secrist surname established themselves in various parts of the country. One of the earliest recorded Secrists in America was Johann Georg Secrist, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749.
Another prominent individual with the Secrist surname was William Secrist (1836-1907), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio between 1893 and 1897.
In the 20th century, a notable bearer of the Secrist name was John Henry Secrist (1888-1967), an American educator and university administrator who served as the president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) from 1935 to 1947.
While the Secrist surname is not among the most common surnames in the world, it has a rich history rooted in Germany, with bearers of this name leaving their mark in various fields, including academia, politics, and theology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Secrist
Among Census respondents with the surname Secrist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Secrist 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 Secrist surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 1,843
- Two or more races3.1% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
- Black or African American0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Secrist
Secrist 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
#14,775
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,010
+24 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 844 places
2020
#14,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,997
-13 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 370 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,931 | 1,986 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,775 | 2,010 | 0.68 | +24 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 844 places |
| 2020 | #14,405 | 1,997 | 0.67 | -13 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 370 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 Secrist 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 | #14,775 | #14,405 | 2.5% |
| Count | 2,010 | 1,997 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.67 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Secrist bearers went from 2,010 to 1,997 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 370 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,775 to #14,405.
FAQ
Secrist surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Secrist?
Name Census estimates that about 2,290 living Americans carry the surname Secrist. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,674 residents.
How common is Secrist?
Secrist ranks #14,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,997 people with the surname Secrist. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,290), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Secrist.
Has Secrist become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Secrist went from 2,010 recorded bearers to 1,997. That is a decrease of 13 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,775 to #14,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Secrist?
Among Census respondents with the surname Secrist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Secrist in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (1,843 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Secrist appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Secrist (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 Secrist mean?
A German occupational surname denoting a sacristan or sexton, a person who maintains a church and its sacred objects. 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 Secrist (0.67 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 Secrist?
Want to know how many people are called Secrist? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.