2000
#10,323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,860
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Sergent
An occupational surname referring to a servant or attendant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,156 Americans carry the last name Sergent. That puts it at #11,039 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 108,604 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sergent 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 Sergent with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 108,604
Census rank
#11,039
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,752 bearers of the surname Sergent in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11039th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sergent, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sergent
The surname Sergent is of French origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "sergent," which means "servant" or "officer." The name likely originated as an occupational surname for someone who served in a position of authority, such as a bailiff or a court officer.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Sergent can be found in various medieval records and documents from France. One notable example is Guillaume Sergent, a 13th-century nobleman and knight who fought in the Crusades. Another early bearer of the name was Jean Sergent, a merchant from Paris who lived in the 14th century.
During the Middle Ages, the Sergent surname was particularly prevalent in the northern regions of France, such as Normandy and Picardy. It was also found in some areas of southern England, likely due to the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
As the Sergent family spread across Europe, the name underwent various spelling variations, including Sargent, Sargeant, and Serjant. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Sergent surname in England appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Sargent." This suggests that the name had already established a presence in England shortly after the Norman Conquest.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Sergent surname. One such figure was Hugues Sergent (c. 1240-1310), a French architect and sculptor who worked on the construction of the Cathedral of Reims. Another notable bearer of the name was Pierre Sergent (1625-1709), a French Jesuit missionary who traveled to Canada and worked among the indigenous peoples.
In more recent times, the Sergent surname has continued to be prominent, with individuals such as John Singer Sergent (1856-1925), an American artist and portraitist, and Jacques Sergent (1924-2014), a French historian and linguist who specialized in the study of ancient civilizations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sergent
Among Census respondents with the surname Sergent, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Sergent 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 Sergent surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 2,401
- Black or African American4.8% · 132
- Two or more races4.3% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sergent
Sergent 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
#10,787
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,957
+97 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 464 places
2020
#11,039
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,752
-205 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 252 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,323 | 2,860 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,787 | 2,957 | 1.00 | +97 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 464 places |
| 2020 | #11,039 | 2,752 | 0.92 | -205 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 252 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 Sergent 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 | #10,787 | #11,039 | -2.3% |
| Count | 2,957 | 2,752 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.92 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sergent bearers went from 2,957 to 2,752 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 252 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,787 to #11,039.
FAQ
Sergent surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sergent?
Name Census estimates that about 3,156 living Americans carry the surname Sergent. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 108,604 residents.
How common is Sergent?
Sergent ranks #11,039 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.92 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 2,752 people with the surname Sergent. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,156), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.92 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 Sergent.
Has Sergent become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sergent went from 2,957 recorded bearers to 2,752. That is a decrease of 205 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,787 to #11,039.
What does the Census say about the background of Sergent?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sergent, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Sergent in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (2,401 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sergent appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Black (4.8%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Sergent (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 Sergent mean?
An occupational surname referring to a servant or attendant. 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 Sergent (0.92 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 Sergent?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.