2000
#117,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Suckling
A surname derived from the Old English word "suckling," meaning a young child or animal still feeding on its mother's milk.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Suckling. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Suckling 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 Suckling with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Suckling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Suckling, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Suckling
The surname Suckling has its origins in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "sucling," which means "one who is suckling" or "a suckling child." The name was likely given as a descriptive nickname to someone who nursed or cared for infants.
In the early records, the name appeared with various spellings, such as "Sockling," "Suckelyng," and "Suckelingh." One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, where a person named Lucia Suckling is mentioned.
The Suckling surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia. In the 16th century, Sir John Suckling (1609-1642), an English poet and playwright, was a notable bearer of the name. He is best known for his lyric poems, including "A Ballad Upon a Wedding" and "A Sessions of the Poets."
Another notable figure was Sir Robert Suckling (1585-1659), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Norfolk. He served as Lord Mayor of Norwich and was knighted by King James I in 1619.
In the 17th century, Daniel Suckling (1639-1686) was an English clergyman and author who wrote a book titled "An Essay Towards a Description of the Province of Georgia."
The Suckling family also had connections to the American colonies. Robert Suckling (1687-1736) was a wealthy merchant and landowner from Woodton, Norfolk, who owned plantations in Virginia and Maryland.
In the 18th century, Maurice Suckling (1725-1786) was a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the surname Suckling throughout history, demonstrating its long-standing presence and significance in various regions and contexts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suckling
Among Census respondents with the surname Suckling, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Suckling 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 Suckling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Suckling
Suckling 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
-14 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,911 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-8 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,308 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #117,538 | 137 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 18,911 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 9,308 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 Suckling 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 | #136,449 | #145,757 | -6.8% |
| Count | 123 | 115 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Suckling bearers went from 123 to 115 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 9,308 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #145,757.
FAQ
Suckling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Suckling?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Suckling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Suckling?
Suckling ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Suckling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Suckling.
Has Suckling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Suckling went from 123 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Suckling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Suckling, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Suckling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Suckling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Suckling (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 Suckling mean?
A surname derived from the Old English word "suckling," meaning a young child or animal still feeding on its mother's milk. 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 Suckling (0.04 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 Suckling?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.