2000
#14,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,842
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Setser
A variant of Setzer, an occupational surname for a typesetter or compositor in a printing establishment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,047 Americans carry the last name Setser. That puts it at #15,743 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 167,442 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Setser 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
2.0K
1 in 167,442
Census rank
#15,743
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,785 bearers of the surname Setser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15743rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Setser, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Setser
The surname Setser is believed to have originated in Germany and likely derived from the German word "setz" or "setzen," meaning "to set" or "to plant." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked as a gardener, farmer, or someone involved in planting or setting crops.
One of the earliest known records of the Setser surname dates back to the 15th century in the town of Setzen, located in the Rhineland region of Germany. The town's name, which shares a similar root with the surname, may have been the source of the family name as it was common for people to adopt surnames based on their place of origin or residence.
In the 16th century, the Setser surname appeared in various German church records and documents, including baptismal records and marriage registers. Some of the earliest known individuals with the Setser surname include Hans Setser, born in 1512 in Setzen, and Joachim Setser, born in 1567 in the nearby town of Köln.
By the 17th century, the Setser surname had spread across various regions of Germany, with records indicating families bearing the name in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Setser, a prominent merchant from Hamburg who lived from 1632 to 1704.
As immigration from Germany to other parts of Europe and the Americas increased in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Setser surname began to appear in new regions. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Setser surname was in Pennsylvania, where Johann Setser, a German immigrant, settled in the late 1700s.
Other notable individuals with the Setser surname throughout history include Friedrich Setser, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1792 to 1860, and Wilhelm Setser, a German military officer who served in the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.
It is important to note that the Setser surname may have undergone various spelling variations and adaptations over time, including Setzer, Setzler, and Sitzer, among others. Additionally, the name's geographic distribution and prevalence have likely shifted and evolved as families migrated and settled in different regions around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Setser
Among Census respondents with the surname Setser, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Setser 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 Setser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 1,626
- Two or more races4.7% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Setser
Setser 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
#14,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,980
+138 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 160 places
2020
#15,743
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,785
-195 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 800 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,783 | 1,842 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,943 | 1,980 | 0.67 | +138 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 160 places |
| 2020 | #15,743 | 1,785 | 0.60 | -195 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 800 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 Setser 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 | #14,943 | #15,743 | -5.4% |
| Count | 1,980 | 1,785 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.60 | -10.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Setser bearers went from 1,980 to 1,785 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 800 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,943 to #15,743.
FAQ
Setser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Setser?
Name Census estimates that about 2,047 living Americans carry the surname Setser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 167,442 residents.
How common is Setser?
Setser ranks #15,743 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,785 people with the surname Setser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,047), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Setser.
Has Setser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Setser went from 1,980 recorded bearers to 1,785. That is a decrease of 195 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,943 to #15,743.
What does the Census say about the background of Setser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Setser, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Setser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (1,626 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Setser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Setser (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 Setser mean?
A variant of Setzer, an occupational surname for a typesetter or compositor in a printing establishment. 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 Setser (0.60 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 Americans have the surname Setser?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.