Explore the Family Name Sain
The meaning of Sain
1. Americanized form of German Zirn, which is a variant of Zürn (see Zurn). Compare Saine, Sane, and Sayne. 2. Croatian and Serbian (Šain): metonymic occupational name for a hawker or a nickname from ša(h)in ‘falcon, hawk (trained for hunting)’, a word of Turkish and ultimately Persian origin (see Sahin). Compare Shain and Shine. 3. Americanized form of Slovenian and Croatian Šajn: nickname from šajn, an obsolete loanword from German meaning ‘shine’, or a Slavicized form of German Schein. As a Croatian surname it may also be a variant of Šain (see 2 above). Compare Shain and Shine. 4. Spanish: nickname from saín ‘fat’. 5. Portuguese and Galician: habitational name from Saim in Portugal or Zaín in Galicia. 6. French (Saïn): metonymic occupational name for a pork butcher, from Old French sain ‘lard’. 7. Indian: variant of Shahin and Sahin. History: The first bearer of the surname Sain in North America was Casper Sain from the Palatinate, Germany, who arrived in PA in 1749. At arrival, his original surname is documented as both Zirn and Zurn. He later signed himself as Casper Zirn, while in the same document a clerk spelled his surname as Sain.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Sain in the United States?
The surname Sain, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, has seen slight shifts in its popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked at 7019 while by 2010, it dropped slightly in rank to 7155, a -1.94% change. However, the count of individuals with this surname increased from 4402 to 4675 during the same period, marking a growth of 6.2%. Consequently, the proportion per 100k people decreased by -3.07%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,019 | #7,155 | -1.94% |
| Count | 4,402 | 4,675 | 6.2% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.63 | 1.58 | -3.07% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Sain
In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals an interesting shift within the population carrying the surname Sain. While the majority of individuals identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, there was a small decrease from 73.58% to 69.82%. On the contrary, there were significant increases in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (from 3.38% to 5.24%) and Hispanic (from 2.18% to 3.47%). Those identifying as Black showed a minor increase from 18.83% to 19.21%. The percentage of individuals identifying as two or more races also grew from 1.54% to 1.80%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native category experienced a slight decrease from 0.48% to 0.47% over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 73.58% | 69.82% | -5.11% |
| Black | 18.83% | 19.21% | 2.02% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 3.38% | 5.24% | 55.03% |
| Hispanic | 2.18% | 3.47% | 59.17% |
| Two or More Races | 1.54% | 1.8% | 16.88% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.48% | 0.47% | -2.08% |