2000
#14,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,840
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Sonntag
A German surname meaning "Sunday".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,074 Americans carry the last name Sonntag. That puts it at #15,558 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,262 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sonntag 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 165,262
Census rank
#15,558
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,809 bearers of the surname Sonntag in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15558th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sonntag, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sonntag
The surname Sonntag has its origins in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the German word "Sonntag," which means "Sunday." It is believed that the name was initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who was born on a Sunday or who worked on Sundays.
In medieval times, it was common practice to assign surnames based on a person's occupation, physical characteristics, or other distinguishing features. The name Sonntag likely emerged as a way to identify individuals who had a particular association with Sundays, whether it was their day of birth or their day of work.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sonntag can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, dated to the year 1278. The name is also mentioned in various other historical records from various parts of Germany, including the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region, where it was documented in the 14th century.
The Sonntag surname has been linked to several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Sonntag, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 16th century (1497-1569). Another prominent figure was Christoph Sonntag, a German theologian and professor who lived in the 17th century (1634-1711).
In the 18th century, Johann Sonntag (1735-1797) was a German composer and organist, known for his contributions to church music. During the same period, Johann Friedrich Sonntag (1778-1857) was a German botanist and naturalist, renowned for his work on plant taxonomy.
Moving into the 19th century, one notable bearer of the Sonntag surname was August Sonntag (1804-1887), a German-American artist and lithographer who emigrated to the United States and became known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West.
Throughout its history, the Sonntag surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Sontag, Sondtag, and Sonnentag. These variations often reflect regional dialects or variations in spelling conventions over time. Despite these changes, the name has maintained its connection to its German roots and its association with the concept of Sunday.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sonntag
Among Census respondents with the surname Sonntag, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sonntag 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 Sonntag surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 1,637
- Two or more races4.2% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 16
- Black or African American0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sonntag
Sonntag 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
#15,442
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,897
+57 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 643 places
2020
#15,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,809
-88 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 116 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,799 | 1,840 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,442 | 1,897 | 0.64 | +57 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 643 places |
| 2020 | #15,558 | 1,809 | 0.61 | -88 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 116 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 Sonntag 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 | #15,442 | #15,558 | -0.8% |
| Count | 1,897 | 1,809 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.61 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sonntag bearers went from 1,897 to 1,809 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 116 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,442 to #15,558.
FAQ
Sonntag surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sonntag?
Name Census estimates that about 2,074 living Americans carry the surname Sonntag. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,262 residents.
How common is Sonntag?
Sonntag ranks #15,558 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,809 people with the surname Sonntag. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,074), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Sonntag.
Has Sonntag become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sonntag went from 1,897 recorded bearers to 1,809. That is a decrease of 88 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,442 to #15,558.
What does the Census say about the background of Sonntag?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sonntag, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Sonntag in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (1,637 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sonntag appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Sonntag (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 Sonntag mean?
A German surname meaning "Sunday". 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 Sonntag (0.61 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 Sonntag?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.