2000
#34,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 622
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.23
Very Rare Last name
Sulser
From the German for people living by a sullen stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 688 Americans carry the last name Sulser. That puts it at #39,536 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 498,189 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sulser 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
688
1 in 498,189
Census rank
#39,536
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
600
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 600 bearers of the surname Sulser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 39536th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sulser, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sulser
The surname SULSER originated in Germany and Switzerland during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "sulza" which means "muddy water" or "marsh." This suggests that the name likely referred to people who lived near marshes or wetlands.
The earliest known record of the name SULSER appears in the town of Sulz in the Black Forest region of Germany around the 13th century. Documents from this period mention families with variations of the name such as Sulzer, Sultzer, and Sulzer.
By the 16th century, the name had spread to other parts of Germany and Switzerland. In the Swiss canton of Bern, records show a notable SULSER family residing in the town of Spiez in the early 1500s.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname SULSER was Hans Sulser, a farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Schönried, near Gstaad, Switzerland in the late 15th century.
Another historical figure with this name was Johann Sulser, a Protestant reformer and theologian from Bern, Switzerland who lived from 1515 to 1585. He played a role in the Swiss Reformation and published several works on theology.
In the 17th century, a branch of the SULSER family migrated to the Alsace region of France. One member of this family, Johann Sulser (1637-1701), became a prominent architect and designed several notable buildings in the city of Strasbourg.
Back in Switzerland, the name SULSER was also associated with several notable military figures. Johann Rudolf Sulser (1678-1737) was a Swiss military officer who served in the Prussian army during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Eduard Sulser (1806-1865) was a Swiss politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1854 to 1865.
While the surname SULSER originated in Germany and Switzerland, it eventually spread to other parts of Europe and the world through migration. However, the name remains most prevalent in its regions of origin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sulser
Among Census respondents with the surname Sulser, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Sulser 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 Sulser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 543
- Two or more races5.2% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
- Black or African American0.3% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sulser
Sulser 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
#36,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 605
-17 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Down 2,441 places
2020
#39,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 600
-5 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 2,636 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #34,459 | 622 | 0.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36,900 | 605 | 0.21 | -17 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 2,441 places |
| 2020 | #39,536 | 600 | 0.20 | -5 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 2,636 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 Sulser 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 | #36,900 | #39,536 | -7.1% |
| Count | 605 | 600 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.20 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sulser bearers went from 605 to 600 (-0.8% change). The surname moved down 2,636 positions in the national ranking, going from #36,900 to #39,536.
FAQ
Sulser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sulser?
Name Census estimates that about 688 living Americans carry the surname Sulser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 498,189 residents.
How common is Sulser?
Sulser ranks #39,536 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 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 600 people with the surname Sulser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (688), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 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 Sulser.
Has Sulser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sulser went from 605 recorded bearers to 600. That is a decrease of 5 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #36,900 to #39,536.
What does the Census say about the background of Sulser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sulser, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Sulser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (543 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sulser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Two or More Races (5.2%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Sulser (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 Sulser mean?
From the German for people living by a sullen stream. 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 Sulser (0.20 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 Americans have the surname Sulser?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.