The Sosa surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 52,457 people carried this name — #650 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,620 people counted. That is up 42% from 36,813 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Sosa surname

Borrowed from Spanish Sosa, from Portuguese Sousa.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Sosa» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 256,043 people named Sosa live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 91,039
Córdoba 21,470
Santa Fe 17,242
Mendoza 16,989
Chaco 11,234
Corrientes 10,504
San Luis 10,271
City of Buenos Aires 10,129

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

154 people named Sosa live in Switzerland.

They live in 11 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 47
Geneva 36
Vaud 16
Basel-Landschaft 9
Ticino 9
St. Gallen 7
Solothurn 6
Thurgau 6

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Poland’s population register

72 people named Sosa have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 105 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 3 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Subcarpathian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Subcarpathian 53
Lower Silesian 13
Warmian-Masurian 6

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 39 people named Sosa.

Most of them — 24 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 8 départements, most often Loire.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 24
Loire 5
Aude 2
Haute-Garonne 2
Hérault 2
Oise 1
Var 1
Essonne 1
Val-d’Oise 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

52 people named Sosa is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 52

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Sosa in American newspapers,
1915–1929.

Newspaper page from La Opinión carrying the name Sosa
La Opinión 1929-12-06
Newspaper page from The Sunday Telegram carrying the name Sosa
The Sunday Telegram 1915-04-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 30,122 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Sosa in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

263 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sosa. The most, 36, date from the 1940s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 70
Victoria 58
Queensland 49
Western Australia 30
South Australia 24
ACT (Canberra) 18
Tasmania 10

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sosa.

Who carried it

People named Sosa,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Domingo Sosa
    Domingo Sosa 1788–1866 · military personnel
  • Desiderio Sosa
    Desiderio Sosa 1829–1878 · military personnel
  • Belisario Sosa
    Belisario Sosa 1846–1933 · physician
  • Pedro J. Sosa
    Pedro J. Sosa 1851–1898 · engineer
  • Julio Sosa d. 2014 · composer
  • Francisco Sosa d. 1520 · Catholic bishop

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Sosa,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States697 records

697 records of the Sosa name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 366
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 137
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 112
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 59
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 9
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Marcos Sosa

    Born 1948; from New York, New York. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; died in an accident 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Regino Sosa

    Born 1910 in Texas. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Sam Houston; construction worker from Bexar County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1991, buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Luis F. Sosa

    Arrived at New York in 1886 aboard the Philadelphia from La Guaira and Puerto Cabello, aged 26; planter. From Holland, the Netherlands.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 697 records for Sosa in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France12 records

12 records of the Sosa name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Noel Paul Sosa

    Born 1955 in Rive-de-Gier (Loire); died 1990 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Aurora Sosa

    Born 1921 in Spain; died 1991 in Montbéliard (Doubs).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Francois Sosa

    Born 1932 in Spain; died 2000 in Montpellier (Hérault).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Sosa in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Australia2 records

2 records of the Sosa name in Australia State Library of Western Australia indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Biographical index Fr Sosa

    In the Western Australian Biographical Index; born 1890, died 1969.

    State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Sosa in Australia.

Counts: State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sosa.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sosa is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Sosa volume
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