2000
#56,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 336
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Sossaman
A surname with possible Old German origin meaning "summer man" or seasonal worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 337 Americans carry the last name Sossaman. That puts it at #71,480 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,017,075 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sossaman 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
337
1 in 1,017,075
Census rank
#71,480
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
294
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 294 bearers of the surname Sossaman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 71480th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sossaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sossaman
The surname Sossaman is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known recordings dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Soss," which means "one who lives by a brook or stream." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to people who resided near a body of water or a marshy area.
Historical records indicate that the name Sossaman first appeared in the Lower Saxony region of Germany, specifically in the areas around the cities of Hannover and Braunschweig. In the 16th and 17th centuries, variations of the name, such as "Sossman" and "Soßmann," were found in church records and tax documents from these regions.
One of the earliest known references to the name Sossaman can be found in the "Kirchenbuch" (church book) of St. Marien in Braunschweig, which dates back to 1587. The entry records the baptism of a child named "Hans Soßmann," the son of a local resident.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling changes and adaptations to fit the languages and dialects of different regions. In the Netherlands, for instance, the name was often spelled "Sosseman" or "Sossemanns."
Notable individuals bearing the Sossaman surname include:
1. Johann Sossmann (1633-1700), a German Protestant theologian and author from Braunschweig.
2. Pieter Sosseman (1688-1756), a Dutch merchant and ship owner who traded with the East Indies.
3. Anna Maria Sossaman (1712-1784), a German immigrant to Pennsylvania who married into the prominent Muhlenberg family.
4. Jacob Sossaman (1765-1832), an early American settler in Ohio and a veteran of the Revolutionary War.
5. Ephraim Sossaman (1810-1892), a farmer and landowner in Indiana who played a role in the Underground Railroad.
While the Sossaman name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through immigration to North America and other English-speaking countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sossaman
Among Census respondents with the surname Sossaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sossaman 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 Sossaman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 269
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 16
- Two or more races2.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sossaman
Sossaman 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
#59,742
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 338
+2 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 2,916 places
2020
#71,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 294
-44 bearers (-13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 11,738 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #56,826 | 336 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #59,742 | 338 | 0.11 | +2 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 2,916 places |
| 2020 | #71,480 | 294 | 0.10 | -44 bearers (-13.0%) | Down 11,738 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 Sossaman 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 | #59,742 | #71,480 | -19.6% |
| Count | 338 | 294 | -13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.10 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sossaman bearers went from 338 to 294 (-13.0% change). The surname moved down 11,738 positions in the national ranking, going from #59,742 to #71,480.
FAQ
Sossaman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sossaman?
Name Census estimates that about 337 living Americans carry the surname Sossaman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,017,075 residents.
How common is Sossaman?
Sossaman ranks #71,480 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 294 people with the surname Sossaman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (337), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Sossaman.
Has Sossaman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sossaman went from 338 recorded bearers to 294. That is a decrease of 44 (-13.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #59,742 to #71,480.
What does the Census say about the background of Sossaman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sossaman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Sossaman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (269 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sossaman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (5.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Sossaman (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 Sossaman mean?
A surname with possible Old German origin meaning "summer man" or seasonal worker. 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 Sossaman (0.10 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 Sossaman?
See how common the surname Sossaman is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.