2000
#4,431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,403
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.74
Rare Last name
Sayers
An occupational surname referring to someone who assayed metals or tasted food for poisons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,315 Americans carry the last name Sayers. That puts it at #4,735 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,221 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sayers 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 Sayers with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.3K
1 in 41,221
Census rank
#4,735
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,251 bearers of the surname Sayers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4735th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sayers, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sayers
The surname Sayers originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "sayer", which means "woodcutter" or "sawyer". This occupation-based surname was likely given to someone who worked as a sawyer or woodcutter.
Sayers is an Anglo-Norman surname that first appeared in records after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The earliest recorded mention of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Saiur".
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as "Sayer", "Sayere", and "Seyere". These variations were a result of the inconsistent spelling practices of the time. The surname was also associated with certain place names, such as Sawyers Hill in Gloucestershire and Sawyers in Hampshire.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Sayers surname was John Sayers, who was born in Oxfordshire in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was William Sayers, a merchant from London who lived during the reign of King Edward III in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the Sayers family had a strong presence in the county of Yorkshire. Sir Ralph Sayers, born in 1532, was a prominent landowner and served as a Member of Parliament for Ripon.
During the English Civil War in the 17th century, a Royalist soldier named Thomas Sayers gained recognition for his bravery in battle. He was born in Warwickshire in 1620 and fought alongside King Charles I's forces.
In the 19th century, James Sayers, born in 1797 in London, became a renowned bare-knuckle boxer and was known as the "Champion of England" during his prime.
Other notable individuals with the Sayers surname include the American writer Dorothy L. Sayers, born in 1893, who is best known for her Lord Peter Wimsey mystery novels, and the English cricketer Ted Sayers, born in 1884, who played for Somerset County Cricket Club.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sayers
Among Census respondents with the surname Sayers, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Sayers 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 Sayers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.7% · 6,068
- Black or African American5.0% · 364
- Two or more races4.1% · 298
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 257
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 71
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sayers
Sayers 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
#4,603
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,705
+302 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Down 172 places
2020
#4,735
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,251
-454 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 2.43
Rank movement Down 132 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,431 | 7,403 | 2.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,603 | 7,705 | 2.61 | +302 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 172 places |
| 2020 | #4,735 | 7,251 | 2.43 | -454 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 132 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 Sayers 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 | #4,603 | #4,735 | -2.9% |
| Count | 7,705 | 7,251 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.61 | 2.43 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sayers bearers went from 7,705 to 7,251 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 132 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,603 to #4,735.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sayers
FAQ
Sayers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sayers?
Name Census estimates that about 8,315 living Americans carry the surname Sayers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,221 residents.
How common is Sayers?
Sayers ranks #4,735 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.43 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,251 people with the surname Sayers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,315), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.43 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Sayers.
Has Sayers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sayers went from 7,705 recorded bearers to 7,251. That is a decrease of 454 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,603 to #4,735.
What does the Census say about the background of Sayers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sayers, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Sayers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (6,068 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sayers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.7%), Black (5.0%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Sayers (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 Sayers mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who assayed metals or tasted food for poisons. 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 Sayers (2.43 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 Sayers?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Sayers on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.