Sener last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Sener is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sener.

Meaning of Sener

The occupational surname referring to a chandler or candle maker.

Sener, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sener surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sener in America

Sener is the 76768th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sener surname appeared 250 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sener.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sener to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 76768 80216 -4.39%
Count 250 220 12.77%
Proportion per 100k 0.08 0.08 0.00%

The history of the last name Sener

The surname Sener has its origins in Turkey, deriving from the Turkish word "sen," which means "you" or "thou." This name likely emerged during the Ottoman Empire period, which spanned from the 13th to the early 20th century. It was initially used as a personal descriptive name, possibly referring to someone who was addressed in a formal or respectful manner.

Historical records indicate that the surname Sener can be traced back to the 16th century in the Ottoman Empire's territories. One of the earliest known mentions of the name appears in a tax register from the city of Aleppo, Syria, dated 1523. This document lists a certain "Mustafa Sener" among the local residents.

The Sener surname has also been found in various Ottoman-era manuscripts and administrative documents from regions like Anatolia (present-day Turkey) and the Balkans. For instance, a legal document from the city of Bursa, dated 1612, mentions a "Hasan Sener" involved in a property dispute.

In the 19th century, the Sener surname gained prominence with the birth of Mustafa Kemal Sener (1881-1938), a prominent Turkish military officer and politician. He played a crucial role in the Ottoman Empire's modernization efforts and later served as a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

Another notable figure with the Sener surname was Ahmet Sener (1907-1979), a Turkish journalist and author who wrote extensively on Turkish history and culture. His works, such as "The Turkish Revolution" and "The Birth of the Turkish Republic," have become important references for scholars studying modern Turkey.

In more recent history, Mehmet Sener (born 1957) is a prominent Turkish lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey in the early 2000s. He has also held leadership positions in various political parties, including the True Path Party and the Democratic Left Party.

The Sener surname has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to migration and diaspora communities. For example, there are records of individuals with the surname Sener in countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, where they may have settled in search of better opportunities or as a result of historical events like the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

Throughout its history, the Sener surname has maintained a strong connection to its Turkish roots and the cultural heritage of the Ottoman Empire. While its precise origins may be difficult to pinpoint, the name has left an indelible mark on various aspects of Turkish society, from politics and literature to military and legal spheres.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sener

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sener.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sener was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.60% 239
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sener has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.60% 94.09% 1.59%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 0.00% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% 3.18% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sener was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sener, please contact us.

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"Sener last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 15, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sener-surname-popularity/.

"Sener last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sener-surname-popularity/. Accessed 15 May, 2025

Sener last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/sener-surname-popularity/.

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