# Sumner (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/sumner/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as an occupation for a summoner in court.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 18,838 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,909 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 16,390 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.6% (17,837 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsʌmnɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English sumner (“summoner”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Sumner in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 88% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 6.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Sumner in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Sumner

- James Batcheller Sumner, American chemist (1887-1955)
- Charles Sumner, American abolitionist and statesman (1811–1874)
- William Graham Sumner, American sociologist (1840–1910)
- Mickey Sumner, British actress
- Edmond Sumner, American basketball player (born 1995)
- Thomas Hubbard Sumner, American sea captain (1807–1876)
- John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury; Bishop of Chester; British Anglican bishop (1780-1862)

## Similar surnames

Summer, Saner, Schumer, Simer, Skinner, Seymour, Sommer, Sonnier, Shaner, Seymore, Senior, Samora.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.