2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sorscher
A surname indicating the bearer was a sorcerer or magician.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Sorscher. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sorscher 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Sorscher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sorscher, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sorscher
The surname SORSCHER originated in Germany and is believed to have first emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "sorgen," which means "to worry" or "to care for," possibly indicating that the name's earliest bearers were caregivers or people who were particularly concerned or anxious.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SORSCHER name can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Bavaria, dating back to the late 1500s. In these records, a man named Hans SORSCHER is listed as a resident of the city.
During the 17th century, the SORSCHER name began to spread across various regions of Germany, with families bearing the surname being found in areas such as Saxony, Brandenburg, and Pomerania. In the 1670s, a Johann SORSCHER is recorded as having been a prominent merchant in the city of Leipzig.
In the 18th century, the SORSCHER name appeared in various church records and census documents throughout Germany. One notable example is that of Christian SORSCHER, a Lutheran minister born in 1725 in the town of Zittau, Saxony, who served as a pastor in several communities until his death in 1792.
As the 19th century dawned, the SORSCHER name continued to be found across Germany, with families bearing the surname living in both urban and rural areas. One notable figure was Karl SORSCHER, a philosopher and writer born in 1829 in the city of Dresden, who published several works on ethics and morality before his death in 1897.
Another individual of note was Anna SORSCHER, born in 1871 in the town of Essen, who became a prominent advocate for women's rights and suffrage in the early 20th century. She was a founding member of the German Women's Suffrage Association and worked tirelessly to promote gender equality until her passing in 1942.
Throughout its history, the SORSCHER surname has maintained a presence in various parts of Germany, with families bearing the name contributing to various fields and professions over the centuries. While not a particularly common surname, it remains a part of Germany's rich cultural and linguistic heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sorscher
Among Census respondents with the surname Sorscher, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Sorscher 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 Sorscher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 101
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sorscher
Sorscher 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-4 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,585 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 14,585 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 3,162 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 Sorscher 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 | #158,432 | #155,270 | 2.0% |
| Count | 102 | 101 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sorscher bearers went from 102 to 101 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,162 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #155,270.
FAQ
Sorscher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sorscher?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Sorscher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Sorscher?
Sorscher ranks #155,270 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 101 people with the surname Sorscher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), 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 Sorscher.
Has Sorscher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sorscher went from 102 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Sorscher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sorscher, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Sorscher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sorscher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Sorscher (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 Sorscher mean?
A surname indicating the bearer was a sorcerer or magician. 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 Sorscher (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 Sorscher?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Sorscher at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.