2000
#11,653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,466
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Sievert
A German occupational surname denoting a sieve or strainer maker or a person who used sieves in their work.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,704 Americans carry the last name Sievert. That puts it at #12,545 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,758 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sievert 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
2.7K
1 in 126,758
Census rank
#12,545
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,358 bearers of the surname Sievert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12545th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sievert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sievert
The surname Sievert has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "sieben," meaning "seven," combined with a common suffix "-ert" used in forming surnames. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone associated with the number seven or perhaps the seventh child in a family.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Sievert surname can be found in the church records of Saxony, Germany, where a Johann Sievert was mentioned in 1589. Another early reference is from the town of Lübeck, where a merchant named Hans Sievert was documented in 1612.
In the 17th century, the name appears to have spread to other regions of Germany, with records showing a Christoph Sievert in Hannover in 1673 and a Wilhelm Sievert in Munich in 1688. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and subsequent migrations likely contributed to the dispersal of the name across German territories.
As the Sievert surname gained prominence, several notable individuals emerged throughout history. One of the earliest was Johann Georg Sievert (1668-1744), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
In the 19th century, Carl Friedrich Sievert (1811-1879) was a German architect and urban planner responsible for designing several notable buildings and public spaces in Berlin and other cities.
More recently, Rolf Maximilian Sievert (1896-1966) was a Swedish medical physicist renowned for his work on radiation dosimetry. The unit of measurement for the equivalent dose of ionizing radiation, the sievert (Sv), was named in his honor.
Another prominent figure was Hans Sievert (1900-1986), a German businessman and entrepreneur who played a pivotal role in the development of the German automobile industry, serving as the CEO of Volkswagen from 1949 to 1968.
Lastly, Horst Sievert (1928-2014) was a German economist and academic who made significant contributions to the field of development economics, particularly in his work on poverty alleviation and sustainable development in developing countries.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the Sievert surname throughout history, showcasing its presence across various disciplines and regions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sievert
Among Census respondents with the surname Sievert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sievert 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 Sievert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 2,170
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 60
- Two or more races2.5% · 59
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sievert
Sievert 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
#12,476
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,488
+22 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 823 places
2020
#12,545
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,358
-130 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 69 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,653 | 2,466 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,476 | 2,488 | 0.84 | +22 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 823 places |
| 2020 | #12,545 | 2,358 | 0.79 | -130 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 69 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 Sievert 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 | #12,476 | #12,545 | -0.6% |
| Count | 2,488 | 2,358 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.79 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sievert bearers went from 2,488 to 2,358 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 69 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,476 to #12,545.
FAQ
Sievert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sievert?
Name Census estimates that about 2,704 living Americans carry the surname Sievert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,758 residents.
How common is Sievert?
Sievert ranks #12,545 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,358 people with the surname Sievert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,704), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Sievert.
Has Sievert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sievert went from 2,488 recorded bearers to 2,358. That is a decrease of 130 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,476 to #12,545.
What does the Census say about the background of Sievert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sievert, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Sievert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (2,170 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sievert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Sievert (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 Sievert mean?
A German occupational surname denoting a sieve or strainer maker or a person who used sieves in their work. 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 Sievert (0.79 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 Sievert?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.