2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Suskind
A German surname derived from the German word for "sweet", referring to a sweet or confectioner.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Suskind. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Suskind 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Suskind in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Suskind, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Suskind
The surname Suskind is of German origin, with roots dating back to the 16th century in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word 'sussen', meaning 'sweet', and 'kind', meaning 'child'. Suskind, therefore, may have initially referred to a sweet-natured or gentle child.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Suskind can be found in the Brandenburg Cipher of 1549, a historical document detailing the noble families of the region. In this record, a Johann Suskind is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Schönfeld.
The surname Suskind has also been documented in various town records and church registries throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, often with slight variations in spelling, such as Susekind, Süsskind, or Süszkind. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping practices of the time.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure named Johann Suskind (1733-1809) emerged as a prominent theologian and philosopher in Würzburg. His writings on ethics and moral philosophy gained him recognition throughout the German-speaking regions of Europe.
Another individual of note was Friedrich Suskind (1810-1876), a German-born artist who emigrated to the United States and became renowned for his landscape paintings depicting the American West. His works are featured in several prestigious museum collections.
In the 20th century, the name Suskind gained further prominence with the writer Patrick Süskind (born 1949), best known for his critically acclaimed novel 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'. This book, published in 1985, was an international bestseller and was later adapted into a major motion picture.
Other notable individuals with the surname Suskind include Walter Süskind (1913-1945), a German resistance fighter during World War II who was executed for his efforts against the Nazi regime, and Margit Suskind (1927-2011), a Hungarian-born writer and Holocaust survivor whose memoir 'The Unfinished Life' recounts her experiences during the Second World War.
While the name Suskind may have originated in specific regions of Germany, it has since spread across various countries and cultures, reflecting the migration patterns and histories of families bearing this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Suskind
Among Census respondents with the surname Suskind, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Suskind 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 Suskind surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Suskind
Suskind 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
+5 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 4,218 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-19 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,240 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 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | +5 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 4,218 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 18,240 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 Suskind 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 | #124,548 | #142,788 | -14.6% |
| Count | 138 | 119 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Suskind bearers went from 138 to 119 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 18,240 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #142,788.
FAQ
Suskind surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Suskind?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Suskind. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Suskind?
Suskind ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Suskind. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Suskind.
Has Suskind become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Suskind went from 138 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 19 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Suskind?
Among Census respondents with the surname Suskind, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Suskind in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Suskind appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (3.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Suskind (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 Suskind mean?
A German surname derived from the German word for "sweet", referring to a sweet or confectioner. 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 Suskind (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 have the last name Suskind?
Find out how many people have the surname Suskind on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.