2000
#12,925
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,180
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Seese
A German occupational surname referring to a manufacturer or seller of cheese.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,303 Americans carry the last name Seese. That puts it at #14,332 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,829 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seese 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 148,829
Census rank
#14,332
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,008 bearers of the surname Seese in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14332nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seese, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seese
The surname Seese originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "sieze," which referred to a person's residence or dwelling place.
The earliest known bearer of the name was Johannes Seese, a farmer mentioned in a church record from the village of Niederseese, near the town of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany, in the year 1387. This village's name, Niederseese, likely contributed to the formation of the surname.
During the 15th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Sese, Seyse, and Seiss, reflecting regional dialect variations. In 1492, a document from the city of Nuremberg referred to a merchant named Hans Seese, indicating the name's presence in urban centers.
The Seese surname is also found in historical records from the neighboring regions of Westphalia and the Rhineland. In the 16th century, a notable figure was Heinrich Seese, a Protestant reformer and theologian born in Soest, Westphalia, in 1521.
As the name spread across German-speaking territories, it occasionally appeared in different forms, such as Seess or Seeser. One prominent individual was Johann Seese, a respected jurist and law professor at the University of Jena, who lived from 1588 to 1662.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the Seese name was Johann Gottfried Seese, a composer and organist born in Saxony in 1723. He is known for his contributions to sacred music and his compositions for organ and other instruments.
Another significant figure was Friedrich Seese, a military officer and diplomat from Hesse who played a role in the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1768 and served as a representative of the Grand Duchy of Hesse at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the surname Seese, which has its roots in the German language and can be traced back to the medieval period in various regions of what is now modern-day Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seese
Among Census respondents with the surname Seese, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Seese 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 Seese surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 1,882
- Two or more races2.7% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seese
Seese 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
#13,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,191
+11 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 873 places
2020
#14,332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,008
-183 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 534 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,925 | 2,180 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,798 | 2,191 | 0.74 | +11 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 873 places |
| 2020 | #14,332 | 2,008 | 0.67 | -183 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 534 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 Seese 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 | #13,798 | #14,332 | -3.9% |
| Count | 2,191 | 2,008 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.67 | -9.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seese bearers went from 2,191 to 2,008 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 534 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,798 to #14,332.
FAQ
Seese surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seese?
Name Census estimates that about 2,303 living Americans carry the surname Seese. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,829 residents.
How common is Seese?
Seese ranks #14,332 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 2,008 people with the surname Seese. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,303), 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 Seese.
Has Seese become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seese went from 2,191 recorded bearers to 2,008. That is a decrease of 183 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,798 to #14,332.
What does the Census say about the background of Seese?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seese, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Seese in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (1,882 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seese appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Seese (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 Seese mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a manufacturer or seller of cheese. 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 Seese (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 common is the surname Seese?
You can see how many people have the last name Seese on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.