2000
#8,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,728
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.38
Rare Last name
Sudduth
Derived from the Old English term "suð" meaning "south," likely referring to someone living in the south.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,122 Americans carry the last name Sudduth. That puts it at #8,756 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,152 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sudduth 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
4.1K
1 in 83,152
Census rank
#8,756
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,595 bearers of the surname Sudduth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8756th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sudduth, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sudduth
The surname Sudduth has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "sud" meaning south, and "heth" meaning heath or heathland. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or on a southern heath or moorland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror. In this document, the name appears as "Sudhuthe", likely referring to a place name or a person's residence.
As the name evolved over time, various spellings emerged, such as Sudduthe, Sudduth, and Suddyth. These variations were common due to the inconsistencies in spelling and pronunciation during the Middle Ages. The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, where heathlands were abundant.
In the 13th century, records mention a John de Sudduth, a landowner in the village of Sudduth, near Manchester. This place name is thought to be the origin of the surname, further reinforcing its connection to the heathlands of northern England.
Notable individuals bearing the Sudduth surname include:
1. Sir Thomas Sudduth (c. 1550 - 1618), an English soldier and landowner who served in the Wars of the Roses.
2. Elizabeth Sudduth (1602 - 1674), a prominent Puritan writer and poet from Lancashire.
3. William Sudduth (1712 - 1787), an early settler in Virginia who played a role in the American Revolutionary War.
4. John Sudduth (1783 - 1856), a British explorer and naturalist who documented the flora and fauna of the Australian outback.
5. Mary Sudduth Bunting (1910 - 1998), an American educator and the first female president of Radcliffe College.
While the surname Sudduth is not among the most common in England or the United States, it has a rich history rooted in the geographical and linguistic heritage of northern England, reflecting the connection between people and the lands they inhabited.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sudduth
Among Census respondents with the surname Sudduth, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sudduth 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 Sudduth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.9% · 2,619
- Black or African American20.3% · 728
- Two or more races3.8% · 135
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sudduth
Sudduth 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
#8,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,718
-10 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 622 places
2020
#8,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,595
-123 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Up 51 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,185 | 3,728 | 1.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,807 | 3,718 | 1.26 | -10 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 622 places |
| 2020 | #8,756 | 3,595 | 1.20 | -123 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 51 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 Sudduth 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 | #8,807 | #8,756 | 0.6% |
| Count | 3,718 | 3,595 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.26 | 1.20 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sudduth bearers went from 3,718 to 3,595 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 51 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,807 to #8,756.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sudduth
FAQ
Sudduth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sudduth?
Name Census estimates that about 4,122 living Americans carry the surname Sudduth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,152 residents.
How common is Sudduth?
Sudduth ranks #8,756 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,595 people with the surname Sudduth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Sudduth.
Has Sudduth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sudduth went from 3,718 recorded bearers to 3,595. That is a decrease of 123 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,807 to #8,756.
What does the Census say about the background of Sudduth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sudduth, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Sudduth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (2,619 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sudduth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.9%), Black (20.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Sudduth (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 Sudduth mean?
Derived from the Old English term "suð" meaning "south," likely referring to someone living in the south. 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 Sudduth (1.20 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 Sudduth?
Want to know how many people are called Sudduth? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.