2000
#3,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,470
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.51
Uncommon Last name
Sutter
A habitational surname referring to a person who lived near a sewer, drain, or ditch.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,607 Americans carry the last name Sutter. That puts it at #3,737 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 32,314 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sutter 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 Sutter with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 32,314
Census rank
#3,737
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.3K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,250 bearers of the surname Sutter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3737th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sutter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sutter
The surname Sutter originated in Germany and Switzerland, derived from the Middle High German word "suter" or "suter," meaning "shoemaker" or "cobbler." It first emerged in the 13th century, primarily in the southern regions of Germany and the northern parts of Switzerland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sutter can be found in the town records of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, from the year 1290, where a certain Johannes Suter is mentioned. This suggests that the name was well-established in that region by the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name Sutter appeared in various German towns and cities, such as Augsburg, Nuremberg, and Cologne. It was often associated with the shoemaking trade and was commonly found among artisans and craftsmen.
The Sutter family played a significant role in the history of California during the 19th century. Johann August Sutter, born in 1803 in Baden, Germany, was a Swiss-German settler who established Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley. He was a prominent figure in the early days of California and played a crucial role in the events leading up to the California Gold Rush.
Another notable Sutter was Hermann Sutter, a Swiss architect born in 1925. He was renowned for his work in concrete construction and was responsible for designing several landmark buildings, including the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.
In the realm of sports, Bruce Sutter, born in 1953 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was a professional baseball player who achieved fame as a relief pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998, recognizing his exceptional career in Major League Baseball.
The name Sutter has also been associated with various place names, such as Sutter Creek in California, named after John Sutter, and Sutter County, also in California, established in 1850 and named in honor of Johann August Sutter.
Throughout history, the surname Sutter has been recorded with various spellings, including Suter, Sutor, and Schuster, all referring to the same occupation of shoemaking or cobbling. These variations reflect the regional dialects and linguistic differences within the German-speaking areas where the name originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sutter
Among Census respondents with the surname Sutter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sutter 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 Sutter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 8,396
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 345
- Two or more races2.8% · 263
- Black or African American1.5% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 38
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sutter
Sutter 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
#3,640
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,760
+290 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 3.31
Rank movement Down 187 places
2020
#3,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,250
-510 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 3.09
Rank movement Down 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,453 | 9,470 | 3.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,640 | 9,760 | 3.31 | +290 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 187 places |
| 2020 | #3,737 | 9,250 | 3.09 | -510 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 97 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 Sutter 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 | #3,640 | #3,737 | -2.7% |
| Count | 9,760 | 9,250 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.31 | 3.09 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sutter bearers went from 9,760 to 9,250 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,640 to #3,737.
FAQ
Sutter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sutter?
Name Census estimates that about 10,607 living Americans carry the surname Sutter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 32,314 residents.
How common is Sutter?
Sutter ranks #3,737 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,250 people with the surname Sutter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,607), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Sutter.
Has Sutter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sutter went from 9,760 recorded bearers to 9,250. That is a decrease of 510 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,640 to #3,737.
What does the Census say about the background of Sutter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sutter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Sutter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (8,396 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sutter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Sutter (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 Sutter mean?
A habitational surname referring to a person who lived near a sewer, drain, or ditch. 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 Sutter (3.09 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 Sutter?
See how many Americans have the surname Sutter on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.