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

Sowder, 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 Sowder surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sowder in America

Sowder is the 12447th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sowder surname appeared 2,494 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 Sowder.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sowder 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 Sowder

The surname Sowder is thought to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "soudiour," which meant a soldier or mercenary. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked as a soldier or came from an area where soldiers were stationed.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Soudur." This document, commissioned by William the Conqueror, provides a comprehensive record of landholdings and population in England at the time.

During the 13th century, the name evolved to take on various spellings, including "Soudier," "Soudyre," and "Sowdiour." These variations reflect the phonetic changes that occurred in the English language over time.

In the 14th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Sir John Sowder, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. He was born around 1320 and served under King Edward III.

The Sowder name was also present in the Northamptonshire area of England, where it is recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1524-1525. This suggests that the family had established roots in that region by the 16th century.

In the 17th century, one individual of note was William Sowder, a merchant and landowner born in 1635 in Oxfordshire. He was involved in the wool trade and held substantial property in the area.

Another prominent figure with this surname was Thomas Sowder, a theologian and author who lived from 1690 to 1762. He was born in Yorkshire and wrote several influential works on religious topics during his lifetime.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Sowder name continued to be found in various parts of England, with some families also migrating to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to the Americas and other regions of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sowder

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

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

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

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