2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Soar
A surname stemming from the Old English word "soor," meaning a soaring bird or one who soars.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Soar. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Soar 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 Soar with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Soar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Soar, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Soar
The surname SOAR is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word "soar," which means "to fly or soar." The name may have been given to someone who lived near a cliff or other high place where birds were known to soar.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SOAR can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Soare" in this document, likely referring to someone who lived in or near a place where birds were seen soaring.
In the 13th century, the name SOAR is found in various records from the county of Gloucestershire, particularly in the village of Sodbury. This area was known for its high cliffs and rocky outcrops, which may have contributed to the name's origin.
One notable person with the surname SOAR was John Soar, a prominent English merchant who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Bristol in 1520 and became a successful trader, dealing in goods such as wool and cloth.
Another individual worth mentioning is Thomas Soar, an English clergyman who lived in the 17th century. He was born in Nottinghamshire in 1642 and served as the rector of St. Mary's Church in Nottingham from 1678 until his death in 1709.
In the 18th century, there was a family of SOAR living in the village of Swinbrook, Oxfordshire. One member of this family, William Soar (1719-1786), was a renowned clockmaker whose timepieces are still highly sought after by collectors today.
Moving into the 19th century, we find Samuel Soar, a British artist born in Nottinghamshire in 1809. He was known for his landscape paintings, particularly those depicting scenes from the English countryside.
Finally, in the 20th century, there was Arthur Soar, a British engineer and inventor who lived from 1894 to 1976. He is best known for developing the Soar Induction Heater, a device used for heating and melting metals.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Soar
Among Census respondents with the surname Soar, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Soar 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 Soar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.8% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.1% · 12
- Two or more races4.0% · 4
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Soar
Soar 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,999 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-6 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 1,098 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 9,999 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 1,098 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 Soar 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 | #154,907 | #156,005 | -0.7% |
| Count | 105 | 99 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Soar bearers went from 105 to 99 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 1,098 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #156,005.
FAQ
Soar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Soar?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Soar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Soar?
Soar ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 99 people with the surname Soar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Soar.
Has Soar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Soar went from 105 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #154,907 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Soar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Soar, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Soar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (81 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Soar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Soar (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 Soar mean?
A surname stemming from the Old English word "soor," meaning a soaring bird or one who soars. 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 Soar (0.03 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 Soar?
Want to know how many people are called Soar? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.