2000
#17,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,485
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.55
Rare Last name
Sugarman
A surname referring to someone who worked with or sold sugar.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,563 Americans carry the last name Sugarman. That puts it at #19,783 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 219,293 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sugarman 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 Sugarman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.6K
1 in 219,293
Census rank
#19,783
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,363 bearers of the surname Sugarman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19783rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sugarman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sugarman
The surname Sugarman is of Ashkenazic Jewish origin, with its roots tracing back to areas of Central and Eastern Europe during the late Middle Ages. It likely derived from the Yiddish word "tsuker," meaning sugar, and "man," a reference to someone involved in the sugar trade or industry. The earliest known instances of the name appear in documents from the 16th century in regions like Poland and Ukraine.
One notable early record of the Sugarman name comes from the town of Krakow, Poland, where a merchant named Jacob Sugarman is mentioned in a guild register dating back to 1572. This suggests that the name may have originated among Jewish traders and merchants who dealt in luxury goods like sugar, which was a highly coveted commodity at the time.
In the 17th century, the name Sugarman began to appear in various European regions, including Germany and the Netherlands, as Jewish communities migrated and settled in new areas. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Rabbi Moshe Sugarman, a prominent scholar and teacher who lived in Amsterdam in the early 1600s.
As the centuries progressed, the Sugarman name continued to spread across Europe and eventually to other parts of the world through immigration. One notable individual was Isaac Sugarman (1783-1862), a successful merchant and philanthropist from London, who was instrumental in establishing several Jewish charities and institutions in the city.
Another influential figure was Sarah Sugarman (1844-1923), a pioneering American businesswoman and entrepreneur from New York City. She founded one of the first successful women-owned businesses in the United States, a successful millinery and clothing company that catered to the upper class.
In the 20th century, the Sugarman name gained further prominence with individuals like Louis Sugarman (1902-1985), a renowned American attorney and legal scholar who served as a judge on the New York Supreme Court. Additionally, David Sugarman (1919-2005), a British artist and sculptor, gained recognition for his abstract and modernist works during the mid-20th century.
Overall, the surname Sugarman has a rich history that can be traced back to the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe, where it likely originated as a reference to individuals involved in the sugar trade or industry. Over the centuries, it has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, scholars, entrepreneurs, and artists, across multiple continents and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sugarman
Among Census respondents with the surname Sugarman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Sugarman 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 Sugarman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 1,258
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 43
- Two or more races3.2% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 13
- Black or African American0.4% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sugarman
Sugarman 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
#19,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,403
-82 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.48
Rank movement Down 1,802 places
2020
#19,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,363
-40 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.46
Rank movement Down 487 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,494 | 1,485 | 0.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,296 | 1,403 | 0.48 | -82 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 1,802 places |
| 2020 | #19,783 | 1,363 | 0.46 | -40 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 487 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 Sugarman 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 | #19,296 | #19,783 | -2.5% |
| Count | 1,403 | 1,363 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.48 | 0.46 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sugarman bearers went from 1,403 to 1,363 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 487 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,296 to #19,783.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sugarman
FAQ
Sugarman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sugarman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,563 living Americans carry the surname Sugarman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 219,293 residents.
How common is Sugarman?
Sugarman ranks #19,783 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.46 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 1,363 people with the surname Sugarman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,563), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.46 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 Sugarman.
Has Sugarman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sugarman went from 1,403 recorded bearers to 1,363. That is a decrease of 40 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #19,296 to #19,783.
What does the Census say about the background of Sugarman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sugarman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Sugarman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (1,258 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sugarman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Sugarman (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 Sugarman mean?
A surname referring to someone who worked with or sold sugar. 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 Sugarman (0.46 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 Americans have the surname Sugarman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.