2000
#15,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,699
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Sommerfeld
A German surname derived from the word "Sommer" meaning summer and "feld" meaning field, likely referring to a person living near summer pastures.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,051 Americans carry the last name Sommerfeld. That puts it at #15,716 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 167,116 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sommerfeld 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
2.1K
1 in 167,116
Census rank
#15,716
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,789 bearers of the surname Sommerfeld in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15716th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sommerfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sommerfeld
The surname Sommerfeld is of German origin and can be traced back to the late medieval period, around the 14th century. It is a locational name derived from various places called Sommerfeld, which translates to "summer field" or "summer pasture" in German. The name likely originated from rural areas where people were identified by the location of their residence or farmland.
The earliest known record of the surname Sommerfeld dates back to 1380 in the town of Sommerfeld, located in the region of Lower Silesia, which is now part of modern-day Poland. At that time, the name was spelled "Summervelt" or "Sommerveld," reflecting the local dialect and spelling variations common during that era.
One notable mention of the name Sommerfeld can be found in the Silesian Piast dynasty chronicles from the 15th century, where a man named Hans Sommerfeld is listed as a landowner in the village of Sommerfeld. This indicates that the name was associated with landholding and agricultural communities in the region.
In the 16th century, the Sommerfeld surname appeared in various administrative records and tax rolls in the Prussian territories, suggesting that the name had spread across different German-speaking areas. One notable individual from this period was Johann Sommerfeld (1530-1589), a Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a prominent role in the Reformation movement in Silesia.
As the centuries progressed, the Sommerfeld name continued to be carried by individuals from various walks of life, including academics, artists, and military figures. One prominent example is Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951), a German theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to the field of atomic and quantum theory. He was a pioneer in the development of the Sommerfeld theory of metals and the Sommerfeld fine-structure constant.
Another notable figure was Kurt Sommerfeld (1888-1945), a German Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II, reaching the rank of General der Infanterie. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, one of the highest military decorations in Nazi Germany, for his service during World War II.
Other individuals with the Sommerfeld surname include Ernst Sommerfeld (1892-1962), a German composer and conductor, and Ruben Sommerfeld (1892-1949), a German-American actor and film producer who worked in the early days of Hollywood.
While the Sommerfeld surname has its roots in German-speaking regions, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, its origins can be traced back to the locational names associated with rural areas and agricultural communities in medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sommerfeld
Among Census respondents with the surname Sommerfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sommerfeld 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 Sommerfeld surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 1,658
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 57
- Two or more races3.0% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
- Black or African American0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sommerfeld
Sommerfeld 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
#16,444
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,749
+50 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Down 679 places
2020
#15,716
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,789
+40 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 728 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,765 | 1,699 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,444 | 1,749 | 0.59 | +50 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 679 places |
| 2020 | #15,716 | 1,789 | 0.60 | +40 bearers (+2.3%) | Up 728 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 Sommerfeld 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 | #16,444 | #15,716 | 4.4% |
| Count | 1,749 | 1,789 | 2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.59 | 0.60 | 1.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sommerfeld bearers went from 1,749 to 1,789 (+2.3% change). The surname moved up 728 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,444 to #15,716.
FAQ
Sommerfeld surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sommerfeld?
Name Census estimates that about 2,051 living Americans carry the surname Sommerfeld. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 167,116 residents.
How common is Sommerfeld?
Sommerfeld ranks #15,716 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,789 people with the surname Sommerfeld. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,051), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Sommerfeld.
Has Sommerfeld become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sommerfeld went from 1,749 recorded bearers to 1,789. That is an increase of 40 (+2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,444 to #15,716.
What does the Census say about the background of Sommerfeld?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sommerfeld, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sommerfeld in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (1,658 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sommerfeld appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sommerfeld (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 Sommerfeld mean?
A German surname derived from the word "Sommer" meaning summer and "feld" meaning field, likely referring to a person living near summer pastures. 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 Sommerfeld (0.60 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 Sommerfeld?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.