Find out how popular the last name Sumner is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sumner.

Sumner, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sumner surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sumner in America

Sumner is the 1909th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sumner surname appeared 18,838 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Sumner.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sumner to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sumner

The surname Sumner is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "sumnor," which referred to a person who served as a summoner or petty officer for an ecclesiastical court. This name first emerged in the 12th century in various parts of England.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1191, where it is written as "le Sumnur." In the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, it appears as "Somener," and in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296, it is spelled "Somenour."

The name Sumner has its roots in the Old French "somoneor" and the Latin "summonitor," both of which mean "summoner." This occupation was essential in the medieval period, as summoners were tasked with delivering legal summonses and citations on behalf of ecclesiastical courts.

One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Sumner was Geoffrey Sumner, a 13th-century English priest and clergyman who served as the Canon of Wells Cathedral in Somerset. Another prominent individual was William Sumner (1668-1738), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Provost of King's College, Cambridge.

In the United States, the name Sumner is closely associated with Charles Sumner (1811-1874), a famous American statesman and prominent abolitionist. He served as a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and played a pivotal role in the fight against slavery and the promotion of civil rights.

Other notable individuals with the surname Sumner include Increase Sumner (1746-1799), an American jurist and politician who served as the 27th Governor of Massachusetts, and Edwin Vose Sumner (1797-1863), a career United States Army officer who served as a Union Army general during the American Civil War.

The name Sumner has also been connected to various place names throughout history. For example, Sumner County in Tennessee and Sumner County in Kansas were both named after Charles Sumner, the abolitionist senator from Massachusetts.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sumner

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sumner.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sumner was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sumner has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sumner was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sumner, please contact us.

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