2000
#117,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Semm
A surname potentially derived from the German "Semmel" meaning a type of bread roll.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Semm. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Semm 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Semm in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Semm, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Semm
The surname SEMM has its origins in medieval Germany, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "semmel," meaning a type of small bread roll or a bread crumb. The name was likely initially used as a descriptive surname for a baker or someone associated with the baking trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SEMM can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, where a certain Heinricus Semm is mentioned in a document dated 1256. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the area by the mid-13th century.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various records from the city of Nuremberg, where a prominent family of brewers and bakers bore the surname SEMM. Johannes Semm, born in 1342, was a respected member of this family and served as a councilman in the city government.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, it underwent minor spelling variations, such as Semme, Semmler, and Semmelbauer. These variants often reflected regional dialects or occupations related to baking or milling.
One notable bearer of the SEMM name was Hans Semm, a scholar and theologian from Erfurt, who lived from 1488 to 1554. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several influential works on theology and church reform.
In the 17th century, the SEMM surname found its way to the Netherlands, where a family of merchants and traders bearing the name settled in Amsterdam. Pieter Semm, born in 1623, was a successful spice trader and played a significant role in the Dutch East India Company's operations.
Another influential figure with the SEMM surname was Johann Michael Semm, a German composer and organist who lived from 1688 to 1768. He was renowned for his liturgical compositions and served as the court organist for the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way to other regions, such as France and England, where it underwent further variations in spelling, such as Sem, Semmens, and Semmons.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Semm
Among Census respondents with the surname Semm, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Semm 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 Semm surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 114
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Semm
Semm 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-17 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,690 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,821 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #117,538 | 137 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 21,690 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,821 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 Semm 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 | #139,228 | #142,049 | -2.0% |
| Count | 120 | 120 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Semm bearers went from 120 to 120 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,821 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #142,049.
FAQ
Semm surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Semm?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Semm. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Semm?
Semm ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Semm. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Semm.
Has Semm become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Semm went from 120 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Semm?
Among Census respondents with the surname Semm, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Semm in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Semm appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Semm (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 Semm mean?
A surname potentially derived from the German "Semmel" meaning a type of bread roll. 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 Semm (0.04 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 have the surname Semm?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.