2000
#3,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,395
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.85
Uncommon Last name
Seifert
A German occupational surname referring to a soapmaker or producer of soap.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,357 Americans carry the last name Seifert. That puts it at #3,512 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,180 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seifert 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 Seifert with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,180
Census rank
#3,512
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.9K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,904 bearers of the surname Seifert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3512th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seifert, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seifert
The surname Seifert is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word "seifen," meaning "to soap" or "to lather." It was an occupational surname given to those who worked as soap makers or chandlers.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled Seyfert or Seifert, and it first appeared in historical records in the late 12th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Heinricus Seifer, who was mentioned in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a medieval cartulary of the Corvey Abbey in Germany, around 1192.
The Seifert name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony, Silesia, and Bohemia, where many soap-making guilds and workshops were established during the Middle Ages. It was also found in other parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Johannes Seifert was a prominent citizen and merchant in the city of Leipzig. He served as a member of the city council and was involved in the local trade of soap and other goods.
During the Renaissance period, the Seifert family produced several notable artists and scholars. Hans Seifert (1500-1573) was a German painter and engraver known for his religious works, while Johannes Seifert (1531-1598) was a humanist scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Leipzig.
In the 17th century, Johann Seifert (1603-1677) was a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Elector of Saxony. His son, Johann Michael Seifert (1645-1697), followed in his footsteps and became a respected organist and composer as well.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Seifert name continued to be associated with various professions and fields, including science, literature, and politics. Carl Theodor Seifert (1805-1869) was a German mathematician and physicist, while Johann Seifert (1800-1865) was a writer and philosopher who contributed to the development of German idealism.
Other notable individuals with the Seifert surname include Herbert Seifert (1907-1996), a German mathematician known for his contributions to topology, and Herbert Seifert (1924-2018), a German politician who served as a member of the Bundestag (the German parliament) for several decades.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seifert
Among Census respondents with the surname Seifert, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Seifert 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 Seifert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 9,219
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 311
- Two or more races2.4% · 236
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 63
- Black or African American0.5% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seifert
Seifert 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
#3,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,499
+104 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 3.56
Rank movement Down 239 places
2020
#3,512
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,904
-595 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 3.31
Rank movement Down 104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,169 | 10,395 | 3.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,408 | 10,499 | 3.56 | +104 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 239 places |
| 2020 | #3,512 | 9,904 | 3.31 | -595 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 104 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 Seifert 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 | #3,408 | #3,512 | -3.1% |
| Count | 10,499 | 9,904 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.56 | 3.31 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seifert bearers went from 10,499 to 9,904 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 104 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,408 to #3,512.
FAQ
Seifert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seifert?
Name Census estimates that about 11,357 living Americans carry the surname Seifert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,180 residents.
How common is Seifert?
Seifert ranks #3,512 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,904 people with the surname Seifert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,357), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Seifert.
Has Seifert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seifert went from 10,499 recorded bearers to 9,904. That is a decrease of 595 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,408 to #3,512.
What does the Census say about the background of Seifert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seifert, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (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 Seifert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (9,219 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seifert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (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 Seifert (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 Seifert mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a soapmaker or producer of soap. 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 Seifert (3.31 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 people share the surname Seifert?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.