Sipes last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Sipes is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sipes.

Meaning of Sipes

An occupational surname for a maker or seller of scythes, derived from Middle English "sipe" meaning scythe.

Sipes, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sipes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sipes in America

Sipes is the 4995th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sipes surname appeared 7,034 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Sipes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sipes to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 4995 4784 4.32%
Count 7,034 6,740 4.27%
Proportion per 100k 2.38 2.50 -4.92%

The history of the last name Sipes

The surname Sipes has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Middle High German word "sippe," which referred to a clan or family group. This suggests that the name may have initially denoted someone who belonged to a specific kinship or lineage.

During the medieval period, the name Sipes was primarily concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it appeared in various records and local documents. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the town of Zwickau, Saxony, where a certain Hans Sipes was mentioned in a land registry dated 1557.

As the name spread across different regions of Germany, slight variations in spelling emerged, such as Sipp, Sippel, and Sippen. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal practices.

In the 17th century, the Sipes name gained some prominence with the birth of Johann Sipes (1628-1701), a renowned theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Leipzig. His contributions to the fields of metaphysics and ethics earned him recognition among his contemporaries.

Another notable figure bearing the Sipes surname was Friedrich Sipes (1782-1857), a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Central Europe. His extensive collection of botanical specimens is still housed in several museums and research institutions.

As German emigration increased in the 18th and 19th centuries, many individuals bearing the Sipes surname ventured to various parts of the world, including North America and Australia. One such individual was Karl Sipes (1805-1879), who settled in Pennsylvania, United States, and became a successful farmer and landowner.

In Australia, the name Sipes can be traced back to Johann Sipes (1819-1892), a farmer from Bavaria who arrived in the colony of South Australia in the 1840s. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various industries, including agriculture and mining.

Over the centuries, the Sipes surname has been carried by numerous individuals across different walks of life, from academics and scientists to farmers and tradesmen. While the name may have evolved from its original meaning, it remains a testament to the rich cultural heritage and historical significance of German surnames.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sipes

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sipes.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sipes was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.57% 6,582
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.48% 104
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.58% 41
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.58% 41
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.45% 102
Hispanic Origin 2.33% 164

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sipes has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.57% 95.07% -1.59%
Black 1.48% 1.36% 8.45%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.58% 0.45% 25.24%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.58% 0.65% -11.38%
Two or More Races 1.45% 1.11% 26.56%
Hispanic 2.33% 1.35% 53.26%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sipes was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sipes, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Sipes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 5, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sipes-surname-popularity/.

"Sipes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sipes-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 October, 2024

Sipes last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/sipes-surname-popularity/.

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