2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sosnow
A Polish surname derived from the pine tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Sosnow. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sosnow 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Sosnow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sosnow, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sosnow
The surname Sosnow is of Polish origin, deriving from the Polish word "sosna," which means "pine tree." The name can be traced back to the 14th century and was likely originally adopted by someone who lived near a pine forest or worked in a pine-related occupation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Sosnow can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, dating back to the 15th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Sosnowski, Sosnovskiy, and Soshnowski, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences.
The Sosnow surname is closely associated with the town of Sosnowiec in southern Poland, which was originally a village known as Sosnowice or Sosnowice-Piekary in the 15th century. The name Sosnowiec is derived from the Polish word "sosnowy," meaning "pine," suggesting that the area was once covered in pine forests.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Sosnow was Jan Sosnowski (1504-1583), a Polish nobleman and military leader who fought in the Livonian War against Russia. Another prominent individual was Józef Sosnowski (1808-1876), a Polish journalist and political activist who participated in the November Uprising against the Russian Empire.
During the 19th century, the Sosnow surname gained recognition with the birth of Stanisław Sosnowski (1836-1908), a Polish painter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. His works are displayed in various museums across Poland.
Another noteworthy individual was Kazimierz Sosnowski (1875-1954), a Polish engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of radio technology and held several patents related to radio transmitters and receivers.
In the 20th century, Jerzy Sosnowski (1905-1976) was a Polish writer and poet who was part of the "Catastrophic Generation" literary movement in Poland. His works often reflected on the trauma of World War II and the socio-political changes in post-war Poland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sosnow
Among Census respondents with the surname Sosnow, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Sosnow 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 Sosnow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sosnow
Sosnow 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 10,139 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 2,479 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 10,139 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 2,479 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 Sosnow 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 | #157,234 | #154,755 | 1.6% |
| Count | 103 | 102 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sosnow bearers went from 103 to 102 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 2,479 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #154,755.
FAQ
Sosnow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sosnow?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Sosnow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Sosnow?
Sosnow ranks #154,755 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 102 people with the surname Sosnow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), 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 Sosnow.
Has Sosnow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sosnow went from 103 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Sosnow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sosnow, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Sosnow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sosnow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Sosnow (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 Sosnow mean?
A Polish surname derived from the pine tree. 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 Sosnow (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 are called Sosnow?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Sosnow at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.