2000
#1,214
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,425
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.80
Uncommon Last name
Sykes
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "boundary ditch" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 30,560 Americans carry the last name Sykes. That puts it at #1,291 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,216 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sykes 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 Sykes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
31K
1 in 11,216
Census rank
#1,291
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
27K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,650 bearers of the surname Sykes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1291st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sykes, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (39.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sykes
The surname Sykes has its origins in England, emerging in the late 12th or early 13th century. It is derived from the Old Norse word 'sík', meaning a small stream or drainage ditch. The name likely originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a small stream or ditch.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where a Robert del Syke is listed. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the county of Yorkshire by the late 14th century.
The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Sykes. However, it does mention various places with similar names, such as Sike in Derbyshire and Syke in Staffordshire, which may have been the source of the surname.
In the 16th century, the name appeared with various spellings, including Sike, Syke, and Sikes. One notable bearer of the name was Richard Sykes (c. 1510-1557), an English clergyman and Protestant reformer who served as a canon of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
During the 17th century, the surname Sykes became more widespread across England. One prominent figure was Sir George Sykes (1622-1686), a successful merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of York in 1669.
In the 18th century, Joseph Sykes (1723-1799) was a notable English dissenting minister and tutor who founded an academy for the education of ministers in Leeds. Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Mark Masterman Sykes (1771-1823), a British politician and landowner.
The 19th century saw the emergence of several distinguished individuals with the surname Sykes. These included Sir Tatton Sykes (1826-1913), a wealthy English landowner and philanthropist, and Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes (1867-1945), a British diplomat and explorer who published extensively on his travels in Persia and Afghanistan.
Throughout its history, the surname Sykes has been associated with various places in England, particularly in Yorkshire and the surrounding areas. While it may have originated as a topographic name, it has since become a well-established and widely distributed surname in the English-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sykes
Among Census respondents with the surname Sykes, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (39.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sykes 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 Sykes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.6% · 13,754
- Black or African American39.6% · 10,548
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,212
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 902
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 151
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 83
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sykes
Sykes 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
#1,276
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,546
+1,121 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 9.34
Rank movement Down 62 places
2020
#1,291
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,650
-896 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 8.92
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,214 | 26,425 | 9.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,276 | 27,546 | 9.34 | +1,121 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 62 places |
| 2020 | #1,291 | 26,650 | 8.92 | -896 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 15 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 Sykes 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 | #1,276 | #1,291 | -1.2% |
| Count | 27,546 | 26,650 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 9.34 | 8.92 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sykes bearers went from 27,546 to 26,650 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,276 to #1,291.
FAQ
Sykes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sykes?
Name Census estimates that about 30,560 living Americans carry the surname Sykes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,216 residents.
How common is Sykes?
Sykes ranks #1,291 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,650 people with the surname Sykes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (30,560), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Sykes.
Has Sykes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sykes went from 27,546 recorded bearers to 26,650. That is a decrease of 896 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,276 to #1,291.
What does the Census say about the background of Sykes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sykes, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Black (39.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Sykes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.6% (13,754 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sykes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.6%), Black (39.6%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Sykes (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 Sykes mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "boundary ditch" in Old English. 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 Sykes (8.92 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 Sykes?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Sykes is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.