Find out how popular the last name Sytsma is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sytsma.

Sytsma, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sytsma surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sytsma in America

Sytsma is the 23750th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sytsma surname appeared 1,065 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sytsma.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sytsma to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sytsma

The surname SYTSMA originated in the Friesland province of the Netherlands in the 16th century. It is derived from the Frisian language and likely stems from the common Frisian surname "Sytses", meaning "son of Sytse". Sytse itself is thought to be a dialectal form of the name Sixtus.

Early records show variations in spelling such as Sitsma, Sytzsma, and Sytzama. The surname may have been influenced by the place name Zitsema or Sytzsmahusum in the Friesland region. This village name incorporates the Frisian words "hus" meaning house and "ama" meaning area or region.

One of the earliest known references to the SYTSMA name appears in the Frisian municipal records of Dokkum in 1594, listing a Dirck Sytzsma as a resident. Another early record from 1617 in Harlingen mentions a Sythje Sytzsma.

Notable individuals with the SYTSMA surname include Rein Sytsma (1856-1932), a Dutch politician and member of the House of Representatives. Jouke Sytsma (1894-1983) was a Frisian author and poet. Wietse Sytsma (1957-2018) was a Dutch football player and manager.

In the United States, Douwe Sytsma (1903-1977) was a Dutch-American engineer and professor at the University of Michigan. Johannes Sytsma (1928-2013) was a Dutch-American philosopher and professor at Syracuse University.

While most prevalent in the Netherlands and among Dutch diaspora communities, the SYTSMA surname has also been recorded in other regions, likely due to migration and cultural exchange over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sytsma

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sytsma.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sytsma was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sytsma has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sytsma was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sytsma, please contact us.

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