2000
#1,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,469
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.70
Uncommon Last name
Sanderson
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Alexander, meaning "son of Alexander" or "son of Sander."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,734 Americans carry the last name Sanderson. That puts it at #1,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,821 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sanderson 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 Sanderson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,821
Census rank
#1,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,313 bearers of the surname Sanderson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanderson, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sanderson
The surname Sanderson is an English patronymic name derived from the given name "Sanders" or "Saunder", which itself is a variant of the name Alexander. The name originates from the 12th century and is believed to have been first used in northern England, particularly in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
The earliest recorded instance of the Sanderson surname dates back to the 13th century, with a mention of a William Saunderson in the Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire from 1219. The name also appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which were records of landowners in England.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as Saunderson, Saundirson, and Saundyrson, reflecting the flexible nature of English spelling at the time. The standardized spelling of "Sanderson" became more common in the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest notable figures with the Sanderson surname was Robert Sanderson (1587-1663), an English theologian and bishop who served as the Bishop of Lincoln from 1660 until his death. He was known for his scholarly works on logic and theology.
Another prominent individual was Sir William Sanderson (1586-1676), an English statesman and diplomat who served as the Secretary of State for the Northern Department under King Charles I and played a significant role in the English Civil War.
In the literary world, Thomas Sanderson (1759-1829) was a British poet and writer who published several volumes of poetry and prose works, including "The American Songster" and "Biographical Memoirs of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland".
James Sanderson (1769-1841) was a Scottish botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and authored several works, including "A Biographical Notice of the Late Thomas Jenkins".
Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Sanderson (1891-1962), a British diplomat and civil servant who served as the Governor of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from 1933 to 1937 and later as the Governor of Victoria, Australia, from 1949 to 1954.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sanderson
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanderson, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Sanderson 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 Sanderson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.3% · 19,187
- Black or African American6.8% · 1,578
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,027
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 817
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 542
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 162
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sanderson
Sanderson 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
#1,462
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,384
+915 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 8.27
Rank movement Down 78 places
2020
#1,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,313
-1,071 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 7.80
Rank movement Down 33 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,384 | 23,469 | 8.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,462 | 24,384 | 8.27 | +915 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 78 places |
| 2020 | #1,495 | 23,313 | 7.80 | -1,071 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 33 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 Sanderson 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 | #1,462 | #1,495 | -2.3% |
| Count | 24,384 | 23,313 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 8.27 | 7.80 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sanderson bearers went from 24,384 to 23,313 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 33 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,462 to #1,495.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sanderson
FAQ
Sanderson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sanderson?
Name Census estimates that about 26,734 living Americans carry the surname Sanderson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,821 residents.
How common is Sanderson?
Sanderson ranks #1,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,313 people with the surname Sanderson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,734), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Sanderson.
Has Sanderson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sanderson went from 24,384 recorded bearers to 23,313. That is a decrease of 1,071 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,462 to #1,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Sanderson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sanderson, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Sanderson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (19,187 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sanderson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.3%), Black (6.8%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Sanderson (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 Sanderson mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Alexander, meaning "son of Alexander" or "son of Sander." 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 Sanderson (7.80 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 common is the surname Sanderson?
Want to know how many people have the surname Sanderson? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.