2000
#3,672
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,888
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.29
Rare Last name
Southard
A locational surname referring to someone who lived south of a village or town.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,456 Americans carry the last name Southard. That puts it at #4,157 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,247 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Southard 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 Southard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.5K
1 in 36,247
Census rank
#4,157
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,246 bearers of the surname Southard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4157th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Southard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Southard
The surname Southard is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "sūth" meaning "south" and "ard" meaning "a high place or ridge." This indicates that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a prominent southern hill or ridge.
Southard is a variant spelling of the more common Southward, which is found in records from the 13th century onwards. The earliest known bearer of the name was William Suthward, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1221.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a settlement called "Sudhuuard" is recorded in Wiltshire. This place name is believed to be the origin of the Southard surname, as it would have been used to identify people from that location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Southard spelling is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327, where a John Southard is listed. Another early bearer of the name was John Southard, who was born in Somerset around 1510 and served as a member of the English Parliament.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Southard surname appeared in various records across southern England, particularly in Devon, Somerset, and Wiltshire. Notable individuals from this period include Sir John Southard (1592-1658), a English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Honiton, and Edward Southard (1629-1698), a wealthy landowner and benefactor from Somerset.
In the 18th century, the Southard family had established branches in America, with several individuals bearing the name arriving as early settlers in New England and the Mid-Atlantic colonies. One notable American with this surname was Samuel Lewis Southard (1787-1842), who served as the 10th United States Secretary of the Navy and as a Senator from New Jersey.
Other historical figures with the Southard surname include Henry Southard (1749-1842), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War, and William Southard (1821-1892), an American lawyer and politician who served as a Congressman from Ohio.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Southard
Among Census respondents with the surname Southard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Southard 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 Southard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 7,421
- Two or more races4.2% · 344
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 255
- Black or African American1.2% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 64
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Southard
Southard 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
#4,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,808
-80 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Down 363 places
2020
#4,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,246
-562 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 2.76
Rank movement Down 122 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,672 | 8,888 | 3.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,035 | 8,808 | 2.99 | -80 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 363 places |
| 2020 | #4,157 | 8,246 | 2.76 | -562 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 122 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 Southard 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 | #4,035 | #4,157 | -3.0% |
| Count | 8,808 | 8,246 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.99 | 2.76 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Southard bearers went from 8,808 to 8,246 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 122 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,035 to #4,157.
FAQ
Southard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Southard?
Name Census estimates that about 9,456 living Americans carry the surname Southard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,247 residents.
How common is Southard?
Southard ranks #4,157 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,246 people with the surname Southard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,456), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Southard.
Has Southard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Southard went from 8,808 recorded bearers to 8,246. That is a decrease of 562 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,035 to #4,157.
What does the Census say about the background of Southard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Southard, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Southard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (7,421 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Southard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Southard (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 Southard mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived south of a village or town. 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 Southard (2.76 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 share the surname Southard?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.