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

Sontag, 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 Sontag surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sontag in America

Sontag is the 14090th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sontag surname appeared 2,134 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sontag.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sontag 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 Sontag

The surname Sontag has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German words "sunne" (sun) and "tag" (day), suggesting a connection to someone who lived near a sunny or bright area.

Sontag is considered a locational surname, meaning it originally referred to a place of residence or origin. It is believed to have emerged as a distinguishing name in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where there were towns or villages with names like Sonnentag or Sontag.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Sontag can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the 13th century, which mentions a "Conradus Sontag" from the town of Meissen.

In the 15th century, there are records of a Dytrich Sontag, a merchant from Nuremberg, who was involved in the lucrative trade of spices and silk along the famous Silk Road.

Notable individuals with the surname Sontag include:

1. Susan Sontag (1933-2004), an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, and political activist renowned for her influential works such as "On Photography" and "Against Interpretation."

2. Heinrich Sontag (1820-1912), a German-American landscape painter known for his depictions of the American West and the Rocky Mountains.

3. Anna Sontag (1816-1905), a German-born American actress who performed in both Europe and the United States during the 19th century.

4. Friedrich Sontag (1856-1931), a German-American architect who designed numerous notable buildings in New York City, including the American Museum of Natural History.

5. Gerhard Sontag (1917-1992), a German World War II fighter pilot and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, one of the highest military decorations in Nazi Germany.

Over time, variations of the name emerged, such as Sontack, Sontag, and Sonntag, reflecting regional dialects and spelling preferences. Some of these variations can be traced back to placenames like Sonntag, a town in Bavaria, or Sonntagberg, a hill and pilgrimage site in Austria.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sontag

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

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

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

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