2000
#5,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,168
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.29
Rare Last name
Soule
A French occupational surname referring to a shoemaker or cobbler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,831 Americans carry the last name Soule. That puts it at #5,623 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,176 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Soule 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Soule with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.8K
1 in 50,176
Census rank
#5,623
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,957 bearers of the surname Soule in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5623rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Soule, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Soule
The surname Soule originates from the Normandy region of France, with records dating back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old French word "soule," which means "sun" or "sunny." It is believed that the name was initially given as a nickname to someone with a sunny disposition or someone who had a sunny complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Soule surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Soules." This was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The name is thought to have been introduced to England by Norman settlers during this period.
In the 12th century, the surname Soule can be found in various records from the Normandy region of France, such as charters and land grants. One notable figure from this time was Robert Soule, who was a landowner in the village of Villebadin in the late 1100s.
As the name spread across Europe, it took on various spellings, including Soules, Soulis, and Soulles. In Scotland, there is a record of a family named Soulis who held lands in the Scottish Borders region in the 13th century. This family was influential in the region and was involved in various conflicts and battles during that time.
In the 14th century, the Soule surname began appearing in records from England, particularly in the counties of Devon and Cornwall. One famous bearer of the name was Sir John Soule, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France in the mid-1300s.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Soule name continued to spread across Europe and eventually to the Americas. One notable figure was George Soule, who was a passenger on the Mayflower and one of the original Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth Colony in 1620.
Other notable individuals with the Soule surname include:
1. Nathaniel Soule (1670-1745), an American lawyer and judge who served as a justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
2. Silas Soule (1838-1865), an American soldier who served in the American Civil War and was killed for his role in exposing the Sand Creek Massacre.
3. Caroline Soule (1819-1903), an American educator and author who founded several schools for women in the mid-19th century.
4. Charles Soule (born 1975), an American comic book writer and novelist known for his work on various Marvel and DC Comics titles.
5. Ella Soule (1859-1942), an American artist known for her landscape paintings and her association with the Hudson River School of painters.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Soule
Among Census respondents with the surname Soule, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Soule 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 Soule surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 5,252
- Two or more races3.8% · 228
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 215
- Black or African American2.6% · 155
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Soule
Soule 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
#5,460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,372
+204 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 2.16
Rank movement Down 256 places
2020
#5,623
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,957
-415 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.99
Rank movement Down 163 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,204 | 6,168 | 2.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,460 | 6,372 | 2.16 | +204 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 256 places |
| 2020 | #5,623 | 5,957 | 1.99 | -415 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 163 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 Soule 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 | #5,460 | #5,623 | -3.0% |
| Count | 6,372 | 5,957 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.16 | 1.99 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Soule bearers went from 6,372 to 5,957 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 163 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,460 to #5,623.
FAQ
Soule surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Soule?
Name Census estimates that about 6,831 living Americans carry the surname Soule. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,176 residents.
How common is Soule?
Soule ranks #5,623 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,957 people with the surname Soule. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,831), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Soule.
Has Soule become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Soule went from 6,372 recorded bearers to 5,957. That is a decrease of 415 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,460 to #5,623.
What does the Census say about the background of Soule?
Among Census respondents with the surname Soule, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Soule in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (5,252 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Soule appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Soule (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 Soule mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a shoemaker or cobbler. 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 Soule (1.99 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 Soule?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.