How common is the surname Saunders?

69,943 people in the United States had the surname Saunders in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,414 Americans. It ranked 476th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Saunders?

George Saunders, American writer (born 1958), followed by Kállay Saunders.

Where is the surname Saunders most common?

Wikidata records people named Saunders in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.

Is the surname Saunders getting more or less common?

More common. 67,210 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 69,943 in 2010, up 4.1%.

The surname Saunders

A patronymic surname, carried by 69,943 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex S536

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Saunders is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

An English, Scottish, and occasionally Jewish patronymic surname derived from an old form of Alexander.

Saunders is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 69,943 people named Saunders in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 4,414 Americans. That is up 4.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 67,210.

#476

rank among US surnames

69,943

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.1%

change since 2000 (was #439)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#467	Tate	71,058	4,345
#468	Mack	71,056	4,345
#469	Sherman	70,502	4,379
#470	Hubbard	70,362	4,388
#471	Hodges	70,223	4,397
#472	Zhang	70,125	4,403
#473	Guerra	70,071	4,406

Who is named Saunders

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

67% of people named Saunders identified as white (not Hispanic), 26% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 67%
Black (not Hispanic) 26%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Saunderss

22 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

George Saunders
American writer (born 1958)
Kállay Saunders
American/Hungarian recording artist, born 1985
Raven Saunders
American shot putter, born 1996
Flip Saunders
American basketball player, coach, executive (1955-2015)
Billy Joe Saunders
British boxer, born 1989
Rebecca Saunders
British ex-pat New Music composer based in Germany (born 1967)
Alvin Saunders
American politician (1817-1899)
Arlene Saunders
American singer (1930-2020)
Christopher Saunders
Australian Roman Catholic bishop, born 1950
Howard Saunders
British businessman and ornithologist (1835–1907)
Gloria Saunders
American actress (1927-1980)
Josh Saunders
American soccer player (born 1981)

Notable Saunderss come mostly from the United States (14), the United Kingdom (4) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Saunders

Saunders has the Soundex code S536, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S536.

Questions

How common is the surname Saunders?: 69,943 people in the United States had the surname Saunders in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 4,414 Americans. It ranked 476th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Saunders?: In the 2010 Census, 67% of people named Saunders identified as white (not Hispanic), and 26% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Saunders?: George Saunders, American writer (born 1958), followed by Kállay Saunders.
Where is the surname Saunders most common?: Wikidata records people named Saunders in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.
What type of surname is Saunders?: Saunders is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Saunders getting more or less common?: More common. 67,210 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 69,943 in 2010, up 4.1%.