2000
#13,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,018
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Sieg
A German and Jewish occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "sige," meaning victory or triumph.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,207 Americans carry the last name Sieg. That puts it at #14,793 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,303 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sieg 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
2.2K
1 in 155,303
Census rank
#14,793
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,925 bearers of the surname Sieg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14793rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sieg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sieg
The surname SIEG originated in Germany, with records of the name dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "sigu," meaning "victory" or "triumph." The name may have been initially given as a descriptive name to someone who was victorious in battle or had achieved success in some other way.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SIEG can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, which mentions a person named Sigo in the year 1181. This spelling variation, Sigo, suggests that the name may have evolved over time from its Old High German origins.
In the 13th century, the name SIEG appeared in the records of the city of Cologne, where a man named Hermannus Sige was mentioned in a document from 1238. This variation, Sige, further demonstrates the name's evolution and regional differences in spelling.
During the late Middle Ages, the surname SIEG was particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Sieg, a 15th-century German scholar and theologian who lived from approximately 1425 to 1496.
In the 16th century, the name SIEG gained wider recognition with the birth of Philipp Nicodemus Sieg (1538-1617), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a councillor to the Elector of Saxony.
Another significant figure with the surname SIEG was Johann Jakob Sieg (1638-1719), a German architect and military engineer who designed fortifications and public buildings in various German cities during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
As the name spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, it also appeared in various place names, such as Siegsdorf, a town in Bavaria, and Siegburg, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname SIEG in different areas.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the surname SIEG, including the German philosopher and psychologist Emil Sieg (1866-1951), the German philologist and linguist Emil Sieg (1838-1925), and the German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Sieg (1565-1631).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sieg
Among Census respondents with the surname Sieg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Sieg 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 Sieg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,781
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 60
- Two or more races2.9% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 17
- Black or African American0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sieg
Sieg 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
#14,842
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,996
-22 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 1,076 places
2020
#14,793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,925
-71 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 49 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,766 | 2,018 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,842 | 1,996 | 0.68 | -22 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 1,076 places |
| 2020 | #14,793 | 1,925 | 0.64 | -71 bearers (-3.6%) | Up 49 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 Sieg 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 | #14,842 | #14,793 | 0.3% |
| Count | 1,996 | 1,925 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.64 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sieg bearers went from 1,996 to 1,925 (-3.6% change). The surname moved up 49 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,842 to #14,793.
FAQ
Sieg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sieg?
Name Census estimates that about 2,207 living Americans carry the surname Sieg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,303 residents.
How common is Sieg?
Sieg ranks #14,793 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,925 people with the surname Sieg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,207), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Sieg.
Has Sieg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sieg went from 1,996 recorded bearers to 1,925. That is a decrease of 71 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,842 to #14,793.
What does the Census say about the background of Sieg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sieg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Sieg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,781 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sieg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Sieg (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 Sieg mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "sige," meaning victory or triumph. 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 Sieg (0.64 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 have the surname Sieg?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.