2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sondgerath
A German surname meaning "sunny valley" or "sunny meadow".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Sondgerath. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sondgerath 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Sondgerath in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sondgerath, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sondgerath
The surname SONDGERATH is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, likely in the area that is now modern-day Germany or the Netherlands. The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German or Middle Dutch words meaning "south" and "grass" or "pasture," indicating that the name may have referred to someone who lived or worked in a southern meadow or grazing area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SONDGERATH can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the region of Westphalia, which references a landowner named Johannes Sondgerath. This suggests that the name was already established and associated with a particular family or location by that time.
In the 16th century, there are records of a SONDGERATH family residing in the town of Aachen, located in what is now western Germany near the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. A notable figure from this era was Hans SONDGERATH, a merchant and alderman in Aachen who lived from approximately 1520 to 1587.
During the 17th century, the SONDGERATH name appears in various church records and legal documents across the German states and the Low Countries. One prominent individual was Pieter SONDGERATH, a Dutch military officer who served in the Eighty Years' War against Spain and lived from around 1635 to 1698.
In the 18th century, there are records of a SONDGERATH family residing in the city of Cologne, Germany. A notable member of this family was Johann SONDGERATH, a respected scholar and professor of theology at the University of Cologne, who lived from 1710 to 1783.
Another historical figure bearing the SONDGERATH name was Karl SONDGERATH, a German artist and painter who was active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in 1778 and is known for his landscapes and portraits, some of which are still housed in museums and galleries across Germany.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the SONDGERATH surname continued to be found in various parts of Germany, the Netherlands, and other neighboring regions. Some variations in spelling, such as SONDGRATH or SONDGRAAT, can also be found in historical records from this period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sondgerath
Among Census respondents with the surname Sondgerath, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sondgerath 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 Sondgerath surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.0% · 96
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sondgerath
Sondgerath appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-7 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,054 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 3,054 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 Sondgerath 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 | #152,628 | #155,682 | -2.0% |
| Count | 107 | 100 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sondgerath bearers went from 107 to 100 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 3,054 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #155,682.
FAQ
Sondgerath surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sondgerath?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Sondgerath. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Sondgerath?
Sondgerath ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Sondgerath. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Sondgerath.
Has Sondgerath become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sondgerath went from 107 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #152,628 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Sondgerath?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sondgerath, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Sondgerath in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sondgerath appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.0%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Sondgerath (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 Sondgerath mean?
A German surname meaning "sunny valley" or "sunny meadow". 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 Sondgerath (0.03 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 have the last name Sondgerath?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Sondgerath, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.