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

Sprouse, 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 Sprouse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sprouse in America

Sprouse is the 4319th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sprouse surname appeared 8,229 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Sprouse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sprouse 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 Sprouse

The surname Sprouse has its origins in northern Germany, tracing back to the 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle Low German word "sprusen," which means "to sprout" or "to shoot forth." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational name for a gardener or someone involved in horticulture.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the city records of Hamburg, Germany, dating back to 1492, where a certain "Hans Spruse" is mentioned. Another early record comes from the town of Lübeck, where a "Hinrich Sprusen" is listed in a tax register from 1524.

As the name spread across northern Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Sprusen, Spruesse, and Sprüsse. In some regions, the name was also anglicized to Spruce, which may have contributed to its association with the evergreen tree species of the same name.

One notable individual bearing the Sprouse surname was Johann Sprouse (1624-1692), a German-born physician and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of medicinal plants. His work, titled "Herbarium Vivum," was a comprehensive catalogue of over 2,000 plant species found in the region surrounding Heidelberg, Germany.

Another prominent figure was Wilhelm Sprouse (1798-1876), a Prussian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a respected strategist and author on military tactics. His treatise, "Über die Kriegsführung" (On Warfare), published in 1846, was widely studied by military academies across Europe.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Sprouse surname can be found in the colonial records of Pennsylvania, where a "Johannes Sprouse" is listed as a landowner in Berks County in the late 18th century.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, several individuals with the Sprouse surname made their mark in various fields. Notable examples include:

1. Charles Sprouse (1829-1912), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Sprouse-Reitz Company, one of the largest dry goods retailers in the Midwest.

2. Emma Sprouse (1860-1942), an American educator and suffragist who campaigned for women's rights and played a pivotal role in establishing several educational institutions in Virginia.

3. Robert Sprouse (1892-1972), a Canadian artist renowned for his landscape paintings and depictions of rural life in Ontario.

4. Wilhelm Sprouse (1874-1946), a German-born architect who designed numerous prestigious buildings in New York City, including the Bronx County Courthouse and the Park Avenue Viaduct.

5. Marcia Sprouse (1914-2008), an American author and journalist who covered the civil rights movement and interviewed notable figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

Overall, the surname Sprouse has a rich history that can be traced back to its northern German roots, with various spellings and variations emerging as the name spread across different regions and continents over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sprouse

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

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

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

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