2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Soddy
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a soiled or muddy area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Soddy. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Soddy 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Soddy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Soddy, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Soddy
The surname Soddy is believed to have originated from the Old English word "sodd," which means "turf" or "sod." It is an English locational name that refers to someone who lived near a grassy area or a piece of land covered with turf. The name can be traced back to the late 12th century and was first recorded in the county of Lancashire, England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, where a person named Willelmus de Soddy is mentioned. The Pipe Rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, and their inclusion suggests that the Soddy family had some level of prominence or wealth at the time.
The name Soddy has also been found in various historical records, such as the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1327, where it appears as "Soddy." This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time and across different regions.
During the Middle Ages, the Soddy family was primarily concentrated in the northern counties of England, particularly in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Staffordshire. Some notable individuals from this period include Thomas Soddy, who was born in Lancashire in 1472 and served as a magistrate in the region.
In the 16th century, the Soddy family began to spread to other parts of England, with records showing individuals with the surname in counties like Cheshire and Derbyshire. One prominent figure from this era was William Soddy, born in 1530 in Lancashire, who was a successful merchant and landowner.
The 17th and 18th centuries saw the Soddy name continue to flourish, with several individuals achieving recognition in various fields. For example, John Soddy (1642-1718) was a renowned clockmaker from Cheshire, while Samuel Soddy (1712-1789) was a respected theologian and author from Yorkshire.
As the Industrial Revolution took hold in the 19th century, many members of the Soddy family became involved in the coal mining industry, particularly in the North West of England. One notable figure from this period was Frederick Soddy (1877-1956), a chemist from Eastbourne, East Sussex, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1921 for his contributions to the study of radioactive decay.
Throughout its history, the surname Soddy has been associated with various professions, from tradesmen and merchants to scholars and scientists. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over the centuries, its connection to the Old English word "sodd" and its locational origins remain a significant part of its heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Soddy
Among Census respondents with the surname Soddy, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Soddy 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 Soddy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 115
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Soddy
Soddy 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+3 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,624 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+9 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,262 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 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 6,624 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.3%) | Up 7,262 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 Soddy 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 | #151,532 | #144,270 | 4.8% |
| Count | 108 | 117 | 8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Soddy bearers went from 108 to 117 (+8.3% change). The surname moved up 7,262 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #144,270.
FAQ
Soddy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Soddy?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Soddy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Soddy?
Soddy ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 117 people with the surname Soddy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Soddy.
Has Soddy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Soddy went from 108 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 9 (+8.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Soddy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Soddy, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Soddy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Soddy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Black (0.9%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Soddy (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 Soddy mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a soiled or muddy area. 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 Soddy (0.04 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 last name Soddy?
If you just want to know how common the surname Soddy is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.