2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sofge
A variation of the German surname Sofe, derived from a diminutive of the masculine given name Sophus.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Sofge. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sofge 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Sofge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sofge, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.6%) and Hispanic (8.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sofge
The surname Sofge has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the 16th century. It is a locational name, derived from the German place name "Soffen," which itself derives from the Old German word "soffe" meaning "marsh" or "swamp." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a marshy area.
Sofge was initially spelled in various ways, including Soffe, Soffen, and Soffge, before the modern spelling became standardized. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the records of the city of Nuremberg in 1539, where a certain Lorenz Soffe is mentioned.
In the 17th century, the name can be found in the records of the town of Bremerhaven, where a Hans Sofge was born in 1612. Another notable early bearer of the name was Johann Sofge, a merchant from Hanover who was born in 1678 and is recorded as having traded extensively with the Netherlands.
The 18th century saw the name spread across Germany, with various branches emerging in different regions. In 1743, a Friedrich Sofge was born in the town of Dortmund, and later became a respected scholar and teacher. Meanwhile, in the town of Kassel, a family of Sofges owned a successful brewery in the late 1700s.
As the 19th century dawned, the Sofge name continued to be found across Germany. One notable figure was the philosopher and writer Karl Sofge, who was born in Leipzig in 1812 and wrote extensively on ethics and metaphysics. Another was the artist Emilie Sofge, born in Dresden in 1856, who gained recognition for her landscape paintings.
Throughout its history, the surname Sofge has been borne by a diverse array of individuals, from merchants and tradesmen to scholars and artists. While not a particularly common name, it has left its mark on the annals of German history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sofge
Among Census respondents with the surname Sofge, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.6%) and Hispanic (8.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sofge 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 Sofge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 87
- Two or more races10.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sofge
Sofge 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,497 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 6,497 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 32 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 Sofge 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 | #147,253 | #147,221 | 0.0% |
| Count | 112 | 113 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sofge bearers went from 112 to 113 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #147,221.
FAQ
Sofge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sofge?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Sofge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Sofge?
Sofge ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Sofge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Sofge.
Has Sofge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sofge went from 112 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Sofge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sofge, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.6%) and Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Sofge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (87 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sofge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.0%), Two or More Races (10.6%), Hispanic (8.0%). 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 Sofge (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 Sofge mean?
A variation of the German surname Sofe, derived from a diminutive of the masculine given name Sophus. 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 Sofge (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 surname Sofge?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.