2000
#4,061
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,050
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.98
Rare Last name
Sprouse
An occupational surname for someone who trimmed or pruned trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,743 Americans carry the last name Sprouse. That puts it at #4,524 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,203 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sprouse 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.
Bearers in the US
8.7K
1 in 39,203
Census rank
#4,524
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,624 bearers of the surname Sprouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4524th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sprouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sprouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Sprouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Sprouse 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 Sprouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 6,959
- Two or more races3.0% · 229
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 199
- Black or African American2.2% · 165
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sprouse
Sprouse 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
#4,319
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,229
+179 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 258 places
2020
#4,524
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,624
-605 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.55
Rank movement Down 205 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,061 | 8,050 | 2.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,319 | 8,229 | 2.79 | +179 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 258 places |
| 2020 | #4,524 | 7,624 | 2.55 | -605 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 205 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 Sprouse 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 | #4,319 | #4,524 | -4.7% |
| Count | 8,229 | 7,624 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.79 | 2.55 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sprouse bearers went from 8,229 to 7,624 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 205 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,319 to #4,524.
FAQ
Sprouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sprouse?
Name Census estimates that about 8,743 living Americans carry the surname Sprouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,203 residents.
How common is Sprouse?
Sprouse ranks #4,524 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.55 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 7,624 people with the surname Sprouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,743), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.55 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 Sprouse.
Has Sprouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sprouse went from 8,229 recorded bearers to 7,624. That is a decrease of 605 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,319 to #4,524.
What does the Census say about the background of Sprouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sprouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Sprouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (6,959 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sprouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Sprouse (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 Sprouse mean?
An occupational surname for someone who trimmed or pruned trees. 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 Sprouse (2.55 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 are called Sprouse?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Sprouse on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.