2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Soini
A Finnish surname derived from a place name or region called Soini.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Soini. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Soini 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Soini in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Soini, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Soini
The surname Soini is of Finnish origin, and it first emerged in the late 16th century. The name is derived from the Finnish word "suo," meaning marsh or swamp, and the suffix "-ni," which is commonly used in Finnish place names. This suggests that the name Soini likely originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or in a marshy area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Soini can be found in the Finnish church records from the late 16th century. These records often listed individuals by their last names, and the name Soini appears several times, indicating its use as a surname during this period.
The name Soini is closely linked to the village of the same name located in the municipality of Soini in Western Finland. This village likely served as the place of origin for many individuals who adopted the surname Soini, as it was common for people to take their surnames from the names of their hometowns or villages.
Historically, several notable individuals have borne the surname Soini. One of the earliest was Matti Soini (1640-1712), a Finnish farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Soini. Another prominent figure was Juho Soini (1782-1854), a Finnish clergyman and writer who served as a vicar in several parishes in Finland.
In the 19th century, Antti Soini (1815-1891) was a Finnish farmer and political activist who played a role in the Finnish peasant movement for greater rights and representation. He is remembered as one of the leaders of the "Great Wrath," a series of protests and uprisings by Finnish peasants against the Russian imperial authorities in the 1860s.
More recently, Timo Soini (born 1962) is a prominent Finnish politician who served as the leader of the Finns Party (formerly known as the True Finns) from 1997 to 2017. He was also a member of the Finnish Parliament and the European Parliament, and he played a significant role in shaping the party's nationalist and Eurosceptic stance.
Another notable figure is Sanna Soini (born 1983), a Finnish writer and journalist who has published several novels and works of non-fiction. Her debut novel, "Veljeni, Sebastian" (My Brother, Sebastian), was published in 2008 and received critical acclaim.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Soini
Among Census respondents with the surname Soini, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Soini 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 Soini surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 7
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Soini
Soini 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+10 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 599 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-9 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,289 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 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 599 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 9,289 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 Soini 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 | #140,157 | #149,446 | -6.6% |
| Count | 119 | 110 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Soini bearers went from 119 to 110 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 9,289 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #149,446.
FAQ
Soini surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Soini?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Soini. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Soini?
Soini ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Soini. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Soini.
Has Soini become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Soini went from 119 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Soini?
Among Census respondents with the surname Soini, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Soini in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Soini appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (6.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Soini (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 Soini mean?
A Finnish surname derived from a place name or region called Soini. 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 Soini (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 share the surname Soini?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.