2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sydes
A variant spelling of the English surname Syder or Sider from a nickname meaning "someone from Ziedar" in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Sydes. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sydes 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Sydes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sydes, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sydes
The surname SYDES is of English origin, first recorded in the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "sid," meaning "wide" or "broad," referring to a person living near a wide clearing or meadow. Some early spellings of the name include Syde, Sydys, and Sydes.
One of the earliest known references to the name SYDES can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327, where a John Syde is listed as a taxpayer. The name also appears in the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire from 1379, mentioning a Robert Sydys.
In the 15th century, the SYDES surname is recorded in various manorial documents, such as the Court Rolls of Wiltshire from 1456, which lists a William Sydes as a tenant. The name is also found in the Hearth Tax records of Somerset from 1664, indicating its presence in that county.
Notably, the SYDES name is associated with the village of Sydes in Gloucestershire, which may have been named after an early bearer of the surname or vice versa. This place name was recorded as "Sydes" in the Domesday Book of 1086.
Some notable individuals bearing the surname SYDES throughout history include:
1. John Sydes (c. 1520 - 1587), an English merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers who traded in the Baltic region.
2. William Sydes (c. 1580 - 1638), an English clergyman and rector of Steeple Aston in Oxfordshire.
3. Thomas Sydes (c. 1610 - 1677), an English landowner and magistrate in Warwickshire.
4. Mary Sydes (c. 1650 - 1705), an English Quaker preacher and writer from Yorkshire.
5. Edward Sydes (1704 - 1779), a British soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War and was captured at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
While the SYDES surname may have evolved over time and spread across various regions of England, its origins can be traced back to the Old English language and the concept of a broad or wide settlement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sydes
Among Census respondents with the surname Sydes, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sydes 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 Sydes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.4% · 86
- Black or African American21.1% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sydes
Sydes appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+6 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,037 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.6%) | Up 5,037 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 Sydes 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 | #151,532 | #146,495 | 3.3% |
| Count | 108 | 114 | 5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sydes bearers went from 108 to 114 (+5.6% change). The surname moved up 5,037 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #146,495.
FAQ
Sydes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sydes?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Sydes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Sydes?
Sydes ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Sydes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Sydes.
Has Sydes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sydes went from 108 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 6 (+5.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Sydes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sydes, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.5%). 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 Sydes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sydes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.4%), Black (21.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (3.5%). 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 Sydes (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 Sydes mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Syder or Sider from a nickname meaning "someone from Ziedar" in Germany. 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 Sydes (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 Americans have the surname Sydes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.