2000
#9,393
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,180
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.18
Rare Last name
Sickles
An occupational surname referring to someone who made sickles, a curved agricultural tool used for harvesting grain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,412 Americans carry the last name Sickles. That puts it at #10,300 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,456 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sickles 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
3.4K
1 in 100,456
Census rank
#10,300
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,975 bearers of the surname Sickles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10300th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sickles, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Black (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sickles
The surname Sickles has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'sicel', meaning a sickle or a reaping hook. This indicates that the name may have originally referred to someone who made or used sickles, perhaps in an agricultural setting.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which mentions a Hugo Sikyl. The name also appears in various spellings such as Sickle, Sykkyl, and Sykyll in medieval records across different parts of England.
The surname Sickles is closely associated with the village of Sicklinghall in North Yorkshire, which was formerly known as Sikelynghale or Sikelinghale. This suggests that the name may have originated in this region and could be a locational surname for someone from Sicklinghall.
In the late 16th century, a notable figure named John Sickles (c. 1556-1611) was a prominent English lawyer and Member of Parliament. He served as the Recorder of Cambridge and was also the author of several legal treatises.
Another historical figure with the surname Sickles was Daniel Edgar Sickles (1819-1914), an American politician and military officer who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is best known for his controversial performance at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
In the 19th century, a prominent family with the surname Sickles lived in New York City. One of its members, Charles Sickles (1819-1890), was a successful businessman and real estate developer who played a significant role in the growth of Brooklyn.
Another notable individual with the surname was Walter Sickles (1889-1975), an American football player and coach. He played for several teams in the early years of professional football and later served as the head coach of the Frankford Yellow Jackets (now the Philadelphia Eagles) from 1922 to 1924.
A more recent figure was George Sickles (1910-2007), an American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the United Nations Secretariat Building and the Verizon Building (formerly the Bell System Building) in Lower Manhattan.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sickles
Among Census respondents with the surname Sickles, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Black (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Sickles 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 Sickles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 2,643
- Two or more races3.7% · 110
- Black or African American3.4% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 87
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sickles
Sickles 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
#10,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,158
-22 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Down 807 places
2020
#10,300
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,975
-183 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 100 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,393 | 3,180 | 1.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,200 | 3,158 | 1.07 | -22 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 807 places |
| 2020 | #10,300 | 2,975 | 1.00 | -183 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 100 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 Sickles 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 | #10,200 | #10,300 | -1.0% |
| Count | 3,158 | 2,975 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 1.00 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sickles bearers went from 3,158 to 2,975 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 100 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,200 to #10,300.
FAQ
Sickles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sickles?
Name Census estimates that about 3,412 living Americans carry the surname Sickles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,456 residents.
How common is Sickles?
Sickles ranks #10,300 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,975 people with the surname Sickles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,412), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Sickles.
Has Sickles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sickles went from 3,158 recorded bearers to 2,975. That is a decrease of 183 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,200 to #10,300.
What does the Census say about the background of Sickles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sickles, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Sickles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (2,643 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sickles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.8%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Black (3.4%). 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 Sickles (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 Sickles mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who made sickles, a curved agricultural tool used for harvesting grain. 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 Sickles (1.00 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 Sickles?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.