2000
#13,931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,986
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Sever
A habitational surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone living near a boundary or partition.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,061 Americans carry the last name Sever. That puts it at #15,648 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,305 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sever 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 Sever with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 166,305
Census rank
#15,648
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,797 bearers of the surname Sever in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15648th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sever, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sever
The surname Sever is believed to have originated in England, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "sæfere," which means "sailor" or "seafarer." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname given to those who worked on ships or made their living from the sea.
One of the earliest known references to the Sever name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were records of landholders in various English counties. In these rolls, a person named William Sever is listed as holding land in Oxfordshire.
Over the centuries, the name has undergone various spelling variations, including Sever, Seaver, Sever, Sevior, and Sevier. Some of these variations may have arisen due to regional dialects or changes in the way the name was pronounced or recorded.
In the 16th century, the Sever surname appears to have been particularly prevalent in the county of Norfolk, as evidenced by parish records from that time. One notable individual from this period was Robert Sever, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Great Yarmouth in the late 1500s.
Moving forward to the 17th century, the Sever name gained prominence in the American colonies. One of the earliest known settlers was Robert Sever, who arrived in Massachusetts from England in 1637. He went on to become a prominent figure in the colony, serving as a deacon in the church and holding various civic positions.
Another notable individual from this era was John Sever, who was born in Normandy, France in 1692 and later immigrated to Virginia. He became a successful planter and landowner in the colony.
In the 18th century, James Sever, born in 1730 in England, was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Guildhall and Somerset House.
Moving into the 19th century, there was Joseph Sever, an English artist born in 1817, who was known for his landscape paintings and etchings of rural scenes.
Finally, in the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the Sever surname was Dr. James Warren Sever, an American pediatrician born in 1888. He made significant contributions to the field of pediatrics and is credited with describing a condition now known as Sever's disease, which affects the growth plate in the heel of children and adolescents.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sever
Among Census respondents with the surname Sever, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Sever 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 Sever surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 1,649
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 55
- Two or more races2.4% · 44
- Black or African American1.8% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sever
Sever 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
#14,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,055
+69 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 580 places
2020
#15,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,797
-258 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,137 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,931 | 1,986 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,511 | 2,055 | 0.70 | +69 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 580 places |
| 2020 | #15,648 | 1,797 | 0.60 | -258 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 1,137 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 Sever 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 | #14,511 | #15,648 | -7.8% |
| Count | 2,055 | 1,797 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.60 | -14.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sever bearers went from 2,055 to 1,797 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 1,137 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,511 to #15,648.
FAQ
Sever surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sever?
Name Census estimates that about 2,061 living Americans carry the surname Sever. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,305 residents.
How common is Sever?
Sever ranks #15,648 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 1,797 people with the surname Sever. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,061), 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 Sever.
Has Sever become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sever went from 2,055 recorded bearers to 1,797. That is a decrease of 258 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,511 to #15,648.
What does the Census say about the background of Sever?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sever, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. 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 Sever in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (1,649 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sever appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), 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 Sever (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 Sever mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone living near a boundary or partition. 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 Sever (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 people are called Sever?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Sever at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.