2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sodt
A surname derived from a place name, possibly German or Dutch in origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Sodt. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sodt 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Sodt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sodt, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sodt
The surname SODT is believed to have originated in Germany, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old High German word "sod," meaning "sod" or "turf," potentially referring to someone who worked with or lived on soddy or turfy land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SODT can be found in the Deutsches Familiennamen-Lexikon (German Family Names Lexicon) from the mid-16th century, where it is listed as a variation of the name "Soder" or "Sodter." This suggests that the name may have initially taken different spellings before evolving into its more modern form.
In the 17th century, the SODT surname appears in various church records and municipal documents across various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Saxony and Thuringia. These early records often provide insights into the occupations and social statuses of SODT families during that time.
One notable individual bearing the SODT surname was Johann Georg Sodt (1691-1768), a German composer and music theorist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Prince of Saxe-Meiningen. His works, including numerous sacred compositions and theoretical treatises, contributed significantly to the musical landscape of the Baroque era.
Another historically significant figure was Friedrich Wilhelm Sodt (1768-1831), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge and professor of law at the University of Göttingen. His publications on civil and criminal law were highly influential in shaping legal discourse during the early 19th century.
In the late 18th century, the SODT surname can be traced to the region of Alsace, which at the time was part of the Holy Roman Empire (now in modern-day France). Records from this period indicate that some SODT families may have migrated to or originated from this area, potentially influenced by the movement of people and the changing political boundaries of the time.
As the centuries progressed, the SODT name continued to spread across various regions of Germany and beyond, with some families eventually migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. However, the name's origins and earliest documented occurrences remain firmly rooted in the German lands of the medieval and early modern periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sodt
Among Census respondents with the surname Sodt, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Sodt 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 Sodt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.4% · 107
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sodt
Sodt 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+12 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,954 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,524 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 2,954 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4,524 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 Sodt 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 | #144,141 | #148,665 | -3.1% |
| Count | 115 | 111 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sodt bearers went from 115 to 111 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4,524 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #148,665.
FAQ
Sodt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sodt?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Sodt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Sodt?
Sodt ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Sodt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Sodt.
Has Sodt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sodt went from 115 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Sodt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sodt, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Sodt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sodt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.4%), Black (1.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Sodt (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 Sodt mean?
A surname derived from a place name, possibly German or Dutch in origin. 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 Sodt (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 Americans have the surname Sodt?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.