2000
#1,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,837
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.61
Uncommon Last name
Sumner
An occupational surname referring to a summoner, an official who served summonses and other legal documents.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,261 Americans carry the last name Sumner. That puts it at #1,995 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,917 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sumner 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 Sumner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,917
Census rank
#1,995
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,669 bearers of the surname Sumner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1995th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sumner, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sumner
Among Census respondents with the surname Sumner, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Sumner 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 Sumner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 14,991
- Black or African American6.3% · 1,121
- Two or more races3.6% · 633
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 586
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 212
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 126
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sumner
Sumner 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
#1,909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,838
+1,001 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 6.39
Rank movement Down 58 places
2020
#1,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,669
-1,169 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 5.91
Rank movement Down 86 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,851 | 17,837 | 6.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,909 | 18,838 | 6.39 | +1,001 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 58 places |
| 2020 | #1,995 | 17,669 | 5.91 | -1,169 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 86 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 Sumner 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 | #1,909 | #1,995 | -4.5% |
| Count | 18,838 | 17,669 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 6.39 | 5.91 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sumner bearers went from 18,838 to 17,669 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 86 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,909 to #1,995.
FAQ
Sumner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sumner?
Name Census estimates that about 20,261 living Americans carry the surname Sumner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,917 residents.
How common is Sumner?
Sumner ranks #1,995 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,669 people with the surname Sumner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,261), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Sumner.
Has Sumner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sumner went from 18,838 recorded bearers to 17,669. That is a decrease of 1,169 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,909 to #1,995.
What does the Census say about the background of Sumner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sumner, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Sumner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (14,991 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sumner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Black (6.3%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Sumner (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 Sumner mean?
An occupational surname referring to a summoner, an official who served summonses and other legal documents. 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 Sumner (5.91 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 Sumner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.