Sober last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sober

One who abstains from alcohol or other mind-altering substances.

Sober, 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 Sober surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sober in America

Sober is the 23065th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sober surname appeared 1,108 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sober.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sober 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	23065	22723	1.49%
Count	1,108	1,055	4.90%
Proportion per 100k	0.38	0.39	-2.60%

The history of the last name Sober

The surname Sober is of English origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "sobor," which meant "sober" or "temperate." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who exhibited a sober or restrained demeanor.

The name Sober first appeared in historical records in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire from the late 13th century. These rolls, compiled in the 1270s, were surveys of landholdings and tenants in those counties, providing valuable insights into the distribution and origins of surnames during that period.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Sober, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. These rolls were tax records that documented individuals liable for taxation, offering a glimpse into the prevalence of surnames across different regions.

Throughout the centuries, the Sober surname has been associated with various localities and place names. For instance, the village of Sobers in Gloucestershire may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the name in that region. Additionally, the surname has been linked to the town of Soberton in Hampshire, which could have contributed to variations in the name's spelling, such as Soberton or Soberton.

Noteworthy individuals with the surname Sober include:

William Sober (c. 1550-1618), an English composer and organist who served at the Chapel Royal during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Jane Sober (1652-1724), a prominent Quaker preacher and writer from Pennsylvania, known for her influential religious works.
Thomas Sober (1720-1798), a British naval captain who distinguished himself during the American Revolutionary War.
Samuel Sober (1795-1872), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio.
Mary Sober (1865-1943), a Scottish suffragette and activist who campaigned for women's rights and played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement.

While the Sober surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sober

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

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:

White only
Black only
American Indian and Alaskan Native only
Asian and Pacific Islander only
Hispanic
Two or More Races

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

Race/Ethnicity	Percentage	Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only	91.70%	1,016
Non-Hispanic Black Only	1.71%	19
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only	0.72%	8
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.63%	7
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races	2.26%	25
Hispanic Origin	2.98%	33

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 Sober has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

	2010	2000	Change (%)
White	91.70%	91.56%	0.15%
Black	1.71%	2.46%	-35.97%
Asian and Pacific Islander	0.72%	0.95%	-27.54%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.63%	0.57%	10.00%
Two or More Races	2.26%	1.61%	33.59%
Hispanic	2.98%	2.84%	4.81%

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 Sober was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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