2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Sunken
A surname derived from a low-lying or depressed landform or location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Sunken. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sunken 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Sunken in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sunken, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sunken
The surname Sunken is believed to have originated in Germany during the late medieval period, likely between the 13th and 15th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "sunken," which means "to sink" or "to submerge." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a sunken or marshy area, or perhaps someone who worked in a profession related to water or wetlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Sunken name can be found in the Kirchenbücher, or church records, of the town of Freiburg im Breisgau in southwestern Germany, dating back to the late 15th century. These records mention a family by the name of Suncken, which is believed to be an early spelling variation of the modern Sunken surname.
In the 16th century, the Sunken name appeared in various other German records and documents, including tax rolls and land registries. One notable example is the mention of a Hans Suncken in the Pfälzische Kirchenbücher, or church records of the Palatinate region, in the year 1568.
As the Sunken family spread throughout Germany and Europe in the following centuries, the name underwent various spelling changes and regional variations. For instance, in the 17th century, there are records of a family named Sunkken residing in the city of Hamburg, while in the 18th century, a branch of the family spelled their name as Sunckhen in the region of Bavaria.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the Sunken surname. One such person was Johann Sunken (1590-1663), a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on Protestant theology during the Reformation era. Another was Friedrich Sunken (1785-1856), a Prussian military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a prominent landowner in the region of Silesia.
In the 19th century, the Sunken name gained recognition through the works of the German writer and poet, Karl Sunken (1818-1892). Born in the town of Delitzsch, Saxony, Karl Sunken was renowned for his lyrical poetry and his contributions to the Romantic literary movement in Germany.
Another notable figure was Anna Sunken (1879-1961), a German-born American philanthropist and social activist. She immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century and dedicated her life to various charitable causes, including the establishment of a settlement house in New York City that provided assistance to immigrants and low-income families.
The Sunken surname has also been associated with several places and geographical features throughout Germany and Europe. For example, there is a village called Sunken in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, as well as a small river called the Sunkener Bach in the Rhineland-Palatinate region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sunken
Among Census respondents with the surname Sunken, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sunken 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 Sunken surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 107
- Two or more races8.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sunken
Sunken 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
#125,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
+4 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 4,952 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-17 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,767 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #120,330 | 133 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #125,282 | 137 | 0.05 | +4 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 4,952 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 16,767 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 Sunken 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 | #125,282 | #142,049 | -13.4% |
| Count | 137 | 120 | -12.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sunken bearers went from 137 to 120 (-12.4% change). The surname moved down 16,767 positions in the national ranking, going from #125,282 to #142,049.
FAQ
Sunken surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sunken?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Sunken. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Sunken?
Sunken ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 120 people with the surname Sunken. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Sunken.
Has Sunken become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sunken went from 137 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 17 (-12.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #125,282 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Sunken?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sunken, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Sunken in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sunken appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Two or More Races (8.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Sunken (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 Sunken mean?
A surname derived from a low-lying or depressed landform or location. 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 Sunken (0.04 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 share the surname Sunken?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.