2000
#7,574
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,048
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.50
Rare Last name
Sohn
A German and Jewish occupational surname derived from the word "son," referring to a male descendant or offspring.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,238 Americans carry the last name Sohn. That puts it at #7,070 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,436 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sohn 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
5.2K
1 in 65,436
Census rank
#7,070
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,568 bearers of the surname Sohn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7070th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sohn, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.3%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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earliest recorded instances of the SOHN name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Brandenburg region, dating back to 1280.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sohn
Among Census respondents with the surname Sohn, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.3%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Sohn 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 Sohn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander52.3% · 2,390
- White41.5% · 1,897
- Two or more races3.1% · 143
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 69
- Black or African American1.3% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sohn
Sohn 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
#6,985
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,796
+748 bearers (+18.5%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Up 589 places
2020
#7,070
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,568
-228 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.53
Rank movement Down 85 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,574 | 4,048 | 1.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,985 | 4,796 | 1.63 | +748 bearers (+18.5%) | Up 589 places |
| 2020 | #7,070 | 4,568 | 1.53 | -228 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 85 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 Sohn 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 | #6,985 | #7,070 | -1.2% |
| Count | 4,796 | 4,568 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.63 | 1.53 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sohn bearers went from 4,796 to 4,568 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 85 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,985 to #7,070.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sohn
FAQ
Sohn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sohn?
Name Census estimates that about 5,238 living Americans carry the surname Sohn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,436 residents.
How common is Sohn?
Sohn ranks #7,070 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,568 people with the surname Sohn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,238), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Sohn.
Has Sohn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sohn went from 4,796 recorded bearers to 4,568. That is a decrease of 228 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,985 to #7,070.
What does the Census say about the background of Sohn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sohn, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.3%. The next largest groups are White (41.5%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sohn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.3% (2,390 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sohn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (52.3%), White (41.5%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Sohn (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 Sohn mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname derived from the word "son," referring to a male descendant or offspring. 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 Sohn (1.53 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 Sohn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.