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

Sohn, 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 Sohn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sohn in America

Sohn is the 6985th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sohn surname appeared 4,796 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Sohn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sohn 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.

The history of the last name Sohn

The surname SOHN has its origins in Germany and is believed to have emerged during the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Sohn," which translates to "son" in English. This surname was likely initially used to distinguish between father and son, particularly in cases where both shared the same given name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the SOHN name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Brandenburg region, dating back to 1280. Here, a certain "Johannes Sohn" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction.

During the Middle Ages, the SOHN name was primarily concentrated in the regions of Bavaria, Saxony, and Brandenburg. In these areas, various spellings of the name were used, such as "Sohne," "Soehne," and "Söhne," reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic variations of the time.

In the 16th century, the SOHN name gained prominence when Martin Sohn, a renowned German theologian and reformer, became a close associate of Martin Luther. Martin Sohn, born in 1497 and died in 1564, played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and contributed to the translation of the Bible into German.

Another notable figure bearing the SOHN surname was Johann Michael Sohn, a German composer and organist born in 1668. He served as the organist at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig and was praised for his skills in improvisation and composition.

The SOHN name has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany. For instance, the town of Sohnen in Rhineland-Palatinate and the village of Söhne in Lower Saxony both bear similarities to the surname.

Among other historical figures with the SOHN surname are:

1. Wilhelm Sohn (1830-1899), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and genre scenes.
2. Carl Ferdinand Sohn (1805-1867), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.
3. Henriette Sohn (1749-1826), a German actress and playwright who contributed to the development of German theater during the 18th century.
4. Friedrich Sohn (1846-1920), a German industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Sohn & Co. steel company in Remscheid.
5. Karl Ferdinand Sohn (1805-1867), a German architect and urban planner known for his neoclassical designs in Berlin.

While the SOHN surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and changing borders over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sohn

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

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:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

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

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

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

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

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