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

Sommer, 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 Sommer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sommer in America

Sommer is the 3080th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sommer surname appeared 11,662 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Sommer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sommer 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 Sommer

The surname Sommer has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is derived from the German word "sommer," which means "summer." The name likely referred to someone who was born or lived near a location with a seasonal association, such as a summer pasture or a summer residence.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sommer can be found in the Codex Traditionum Corbeiensium, a medieval cartulary compiled in the late 12th century by the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in Westphalia, Germany. The document mentions a certain "Hermannus dictus Sommer" (Hermann called Sommer) as a witness to a land transaction.

In the 13th century, the name Sommer appeared in various forms, such as "Sumer," "Sumere," and "Summere," reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. Several place names in Germany, such as Sommerhausen and Sommerfeld, may have contributed to the development of the surname.

Some notable historical figures with the surname Sommer include:

1. Johannes Sommer (c. 1542-1574), a German Renaissance composer and organist. He served as the court Kapellmeister in Denmark and is known for his sacred and secular compositions.

2. Hans Sommer (1548-1622), a German Renaissance painter and engraver from Nuremberg. He is best known for his portraits and religious scenes.

3. Johann Gottfried Sommer (1643-1719), a German jurist and legal scholar. He served as a professor of law at the University of Jena and published several works on Roman law.

4. Christian Sommer (1793-1859), a German author and poet. He wrote novels, plays, and poetry, and was associated with the Romantic movement.

5. Robert Sommer (1864-1937), a German psychologist and one of the founders of the field of environmental psychology. He conducted pioneering research on personal space and crowding.

The surname Sommer has been widely distributed across various regions of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, where German influence and migration patterns played a role in its dissemination.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sommer

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

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

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

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