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

Souders, 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 Souders surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Souders in America

Souders is the 7920th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Souders surname appeared 4,179 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 Souders.

We can also compare 2010 data for Souders 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 Souders

The surname Souders is of German origin, derived from the medieval German name Suter or Souter, which means "shoemaker" or "cobbler." It is believed to have originated in the 14th or 15th century, during the time when surnames were starting to become hereditary.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Souders can be found in the town of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany, where a family of cobblers with the surname Suter resided in the late 15th century. The name later evolved into various spellings, including Souder, Souders, and Sauder, as families migrated to different regions.

In the 16th century, the Souders name appeared in church records in the Palatinate region of Germany, where many German families lived before immigrating to North America in the 18th century. One notable individual from this time was Hans Souder, a farmer born in 1586 in the town of Freinsheim.

As German immigrants began settling in Pennsylvania in the early 1700s, the Souders surname became more prevalent in the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances was Johann Peter Souders, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1737 and later settled in Lancaster County.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Souders family continued to grow and spread across various parts of Pennsylvania, with many members becoming successful farmers, merchants, and tradesmen. Notable individuals from this period include:

1. Jacob Souders (1765-1841), a farmer and landowner in York County, Pennsylvania.
2. Henry Souders (1795-1870), a prominent businessman and founder of the Souders Woolen Mills in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
3. Samuel Souders (1820-1898), a Civil War veteran who served in the Union Army and later became a prosperous farmer in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Souders name also appeared in other parts of the United States, as family members migrated westward. One notable individual from this time was John Souders (1870-1942), a successful rancher and landowner in Colorado.

While the Souders surname is most commonly associated with Pennsylvania and the eastern United States, it has since spread to various regions of the country and can be found among families of German descent across North America.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Souders

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

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

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

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