2000
#45,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 444
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.16
Very Rare Last name
Suderman
A surname derived from the German word 'sudermann' meaning 'southerner' or 'one from the south'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 607 Americans carry the last name Suderman. That puts it at #43,886 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 564,669 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Suderman 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
607
1 in 564,669
Census rank
#43,886
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
529
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 529 bearers of the surname Suderman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43886th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Suderman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Suderman
The surname Suderman has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is a locational name derived from the German town of Suderau, located in the modern-day state of Schleswig-Holstein. The name is believed to have originated from the Old German words "suder" meaning "south" and "au" meaning "meadow" or "pasture", suggesting that the name referred to someone who lived in the southern meadows or pastures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the church records of Suderau from the late 1500s. The name was initially spelled in various ways, including Suderauer, Suderau, and Sudermann, before eventually settling on the modern spelling Suderman.
Historical references to the Suderman name can be found in various documents from the 17th and 18th centuries. For example, Johann Suderman, a farmer from Suderau, is mentioned in land records from 1643. Additionally, the Suderman family is mentioned in the parish registers of the nearby town of Itzehoe in the late 1700s.
Notable individuals with the surname Suderman throughout history include:
1. Heinrich Suderman (1597-1669), a German theologian and author from Suderau.
2. Gerhard Suderman (1689-1764), a German merchant and landowner from Itzehoe.
3. Johann Suderman (1732-1801), a German artist known for his landscapes and portraiture.
4. Wilhelm Suderman (1825-1892), a German politician and member of the Prussian parliament.
5. Emil Suderman (1863-1938), a German-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Suderman Foundation in Chicago.
The surname Suderman has also been associated with various place names in the northern regions of Germany, such as Suderau itself, as well as the towns of Sudermühlen and Suderwohld. While the name has maintained its German roots, it has also spread to other parts of the world through immigration, particularly to the United States and Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suderman
Among Census respondents with the surname Suderman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Suderman 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 Suderman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 473
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 18
- Two or more races2.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 10
- Black or African American0.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Suderman
Suderman 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
#43,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 493
+49 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Up 1,671 places
2020
#43,886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 529
+36 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 154 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #45,403 | 444 | 0.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #43,732 | 493 | 0.17 | +49 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 1,671 places |
| 2020 | #43,886 | 529 | 0.18 | +36 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 154 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 Suderman 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 | #43,732 | #43,886 | -0.4% |
| Count | 493 | 529 | 7.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.18 | 4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Suderman bearers went from 493 to 529 (+7.3% change). The surname moved down 154 positions in the national ranking, going from #43,732 to #43,886.
FAQ
Suderman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Suderman?
Name Census estimates that about 607 living Americans carry the surname Suderman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 564,669 residents.
How common is Suderman?
Suderman ranks #43,886 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 529 people with the surname Suderman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (607), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Suderman.
Has Suderman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Suderman went from 493 recorded bearers to 529. That is an increase of 36 (+7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #43,732 to #43,886.
What does the Census say about the background of Suderman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Suderman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Suderman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (473 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Suderman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Suderman (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 Suderman mean?
A surname derived from the German word 'sudermann' meaning 'southerner' or 'one from 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 Suderman (0.18 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 last name Suderman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Suderman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.