Sundermeier last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sundermeier

A surname originating from Lower Germany meaning "from southern meadow".

Sundermeier, 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 Sundermeier surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sundermeier in America

Sundermeier is the 84463rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sundermeier surname appeared 222 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sundermeier.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sundermeier 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 84463 95091 -11.84%
Count 222 178 22.00%
Proportion per 100k 0.08 0.07 13.33%

The history of the last name Sundermeier

The surname SUNDERMEIER originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German words "sunder" and "meier," which together translate to "special" or "distinct farmer." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who held a position of importance or distinction within an agricultural community.

One of the earliest known instances of the SUNDERMEIER name can be found in the records of the town of Marburg, located in the central German state of Hesse. Here, a man named Hans SUNDERMEIER was documented as a landowner and prominent member of the local farming community in the year 1572.

In the 17th century, the name began to spread to other regions of Germany, with records showing SUNDERMEIERS residing in areas such as Saxony and Bavaria. During this time, variations in spelling began to emerge, including SUNDERMAYER, SUNDERMAIR, and SUNDERMIER.

The name SUNDERMEIER also holds historical significance in the annals of German literature. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of the most celebrated figures in German literary history, featured a character named SUNDERMEIER in his 1809 novel "Elective Affinities." This fictional SUNDERMEIER was portrayed as a wealthy landowner, possibly reflecting the association of the name with agricultural prosperity.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the SUNDERMEIER surname. One such figure was Wilhelm SUNDERMEIER, a German theologian and scholar who lived from 1811 to 1878. He made significant contributions to the study of early Christianity and authored several influential works on the subject.

Another prominent SUNDERMEIER was Heinrich SUNDERMEIER, a German industrialist who lived from 1854 to 1927. He founded the Sundermeier Machine Works, which played a crucial role in the development of the German machinery industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the realm of art, the name SUNDERMEIER is associated with Theodor SUNDERMEIER, a German painter and sculptor who lived from 1865 to 1931. His works, which often depicted rural scenes and landscapes, were widely celebrated during his lifetime and can be found in various museums across Germany.

The 20th century saw the emergence of another notable SUNDERMEIER figure, Ernst SUNDERMEIER, a German philosopher and academic who lived from 1901 to 1972. He made significant contributions to the field of existentialism and was a prolific writer, publishing numerous books and articles on philosophical topics.

Finally, in more recent times, the name SUNDERMEIER has been carried on by individuals such as Theo SUNDERMEIER, a German theologian and scholar of religion who has made significant contributions to the study of interreligious dialogue and intercultural theology.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sundermeier

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

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 Sundermeier was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 99.10% 220
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 0.00% 0

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 Sundermeier has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 99.10% 98.31% 0.80%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Hispanic 0.00% (S)% (S)%

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 Sundermeier was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Sundermeier last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 14, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sundermeier-surname-popularity/.

"Sundermeier last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sundermeier-surname-popularity/. Accessed 14 June, 2025

Sundermeier last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/sundermeier-surname-popularity/.

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