How common is the surname Souter?

1,063 people in the United States had the surname Souter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 290,447 Americans. It ranked 23,785th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Souter?

David Souter, American lawyer and jurist (1939–2025), followed by Joe South.

Where is the surname Souter most common?

Wikidata records people named Souter in the United States.

How do you pronounce Souter?

Souter is /ˈsutɚ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Souter getting more or less common?

Less common. 1,158 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,063 in 2010, down 8.2%.

The surname Souter

An occupational surname, carried by 1,063 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈsutɚ/ 2 syllables Soundex S360

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Souter is more common than 85.3% of them.

Origin

From souter (“shoemaker”).

Souter is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 1,063 people named Souter in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 290,447 Americans. That is down 8.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 1,158.

#23,785

rank among US surnames

1,063

people in 2010

0.4

per 100,000 Americans

-8.2%

change since 2000 (was #21,124)

Who is named Souter

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

82% of people named Souter identified as white (not Hispanic), 13% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 82%
Black (not Hispanic) 13%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.0%
Two or more races 1.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Souters

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

David Souter
American lawyer and jurist (1939–2025)
Joe South
American singer, songwriter and guitarist (1940–2012)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Soutar
Soutter

Surnames that sound like Souter

Souter has the Soundex code S360, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S360.

Questions

Where does the surname Souter come from?: From souter (“shoemaker”).
How common is the surname Souter?: 1,063 people in the United States had the surname Souter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 290,447 Americans. It ranked 23,785th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Souter?: In the 2010 Census, 82% of people named Souter identified as white (not Hispanic), and 13% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Souter?: David Souter, American lawyer and jurist (1939–2025), followed by Joe South.
Where is the surname Souter most common?: Wikidata records people named Souter in the United States.
How do you pronounce Souter?: Souter is /ˈsutɚ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Souter?: Souter is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Souter getting more or less common?: Less common. 1,158 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,063 in 2010, down 8.2%.
What are other spellings of Souter?: Soutar and Soutter.