2000
#1,655
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,847
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.36
Uncommon Last name
Sapp
An English occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold sap, a type of medicinal ointment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,463 Americans carry the last name Sapp. That puts it at #1,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,259 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sapp 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
22K
1 in 15,259
Census rank
#1,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,589 bearers of the surname Sapp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sapp, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sapp
The surname Sapp is believed to have originated in Germany and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "sap," meaning sap or tree juice, suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or worked with trees.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Sapp can be found in various medieval records and documents from the German states. One notable mention is in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of charters and documents from the Saxon region, where a certain "Henricus Sapp" is listed as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1287.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Sapp, Sap, Sapp, and Zapp. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of local scribes who recorded the names.
In the 16th century, the Sapp name appears in several historical records from the Netherlands, including the baptismal records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam. One such entry from 1587 mentions the baptism of "Cornelis Sapp," the son of a merchant family.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the Sapp surname. One of the earliest was Johann Sapp (1549-1621), a German theologian and author who served as a professor at the University of Tübingen. Another was Pieter Sapp (1668-1734), a Dutch painter known for his landscape and still-life works.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Sapp (1807-1879) was a German naturalist and entomologist who made significant contributions to the study of insects and their classification. Additionally, Otto Sapp (1873-1959) was a German architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities.
The Sapp name also found its way to the United States, where one of the earliest recorded instances is that of Jacob Sapp, who arrived in Pennsylvania from Germany in the mid-18th century. Another notable American with the surname was Thomas Sapp (1834-1909), a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in battle.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sapp
Among Census respondents with the surname Sapp, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sapp 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 Sapp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.7% · 14,232
- Black or African American19.6% · 3,842
- Two or more races4.0% · 780
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 507
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 110
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sapp
Sapp 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
#1,752
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,448
+601 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 6.93
Rank movement Down 97 places
2020
#1,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,589
-859 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 6.55
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,655 | 19,847 | 7.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,752 | 20,448 | 6.93 | +601 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 97 places |
| 2020 | #1,788 | 19,589 | 6.55 | -859 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 36 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 Sapp 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 | #1,752 | #1,788 | -2.1% |
| Count | 20,448 | 19,589 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 6.93 | 6.55 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sapp bearers went from 20,448 to 19,589 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,752 to #1,788.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sapp
FAQ
Sapp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sapp?
Name Census estimates that about 22,463 living Americans carry the surname Sapp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,259 residents.
How common is Sapp?
Sapp ranks #1,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,589 people with the surname Sapp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,463), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Sapp.
Has Sapp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sapp went from 20,448 recorded bearers to 19,589. That is a decrease of 859 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,752 to #1,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Sapp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sapp, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Sapp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.7% (14,232 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sapp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.7%), Black (19.6%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Sapp (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 Sapp mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold sap, a type of medicinal ointment. 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 Sapp (6.55 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 surname Sapp?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.