2000
#13,240
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Sontag
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "suntac," meaning "Sunday."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,151 Americans carry the last name Sontag. That puts it at #15,098 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,347 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sontag 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
2.2K
1 in 159,347
Census rank
#15,098
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,876 bearers of the surname Sontag in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15098th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sontag, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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the earliest recorded instances of the surname Sontag can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the 13th century, which mentions a "Conradus Sontag" from the town of Meissen.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sontag
Among Census respondents with the surname Sontag, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Sontag 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 Sontag surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 1,745
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 56
- Two or more races2.2% · 41
- Black or African American0.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sontag
Sontag 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
#14,090
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,134
+20 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 850 places
2020
#15,098
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,876
-258 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 1,008 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,240 | 2,114 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,090 | 2,134 | 0.72 | +20 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 850 places |
| 2020 | #15,098 | 1,876 | 0.63 | -258 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 1,008 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 Sontag 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 | #14,090 | #15,098 | -7.2% |
| Count | 2,134 | 1,876 | -12.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.63 | -12.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sontag bearers went from 2,134 to 1,876 (-12.1% change). The surname moved down 1,008 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,090 to #15,098.
FAQ
Sontag surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sontag?
Name Census estimates that about 2,151 living Americans carry the surname Sontag. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,347 residents.
How common is Sontag?
Sontag ranks #15,098 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,876 people with the surname Sontag. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,151), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Sontag.
Has Sontag become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sontag went from 2,134 recorded bearers to 1,876. That is a decrease of 258 (-12.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,090 to #15,098.
What does the Census say about the background of Sontag?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sontag, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Sontag in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,745 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sontag appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Sontag (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 Sontag mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "suntac," 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 Sontag (0.63 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 surname Sontag?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.