Voss
A German name meaning "spring" or "well of water".
Name Census estimates that about 42 living Americans carry the first name Voss. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Voss today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Voss births was 2014 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Voss. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Voss. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
42
~ 1 in 8,160,818 Americans
Peak year
2014
8 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,095
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Voss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Voss from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 32 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Voss remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Voss by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Voss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Voss
The name Voss is thought to have its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically in the Old High German word "foz" or "voz," which referred to the feet or base of a mountain or hill. This connection suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive term for someone living near the foothills or in a mountainous region.
In the Middle Ages, the name Voss began to appear in various forms across different Germanic-speaking regions, such as Vos, Vosz, Fosse, and Vosse. It was particularly prevalent in areas of present-day Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Voss can be found in the historical records of the Frankish Empire, where a nobleman named Voss is mentioned as a landowner in the 8th century. This suggests that the name had already gained some prominence by that time.
In the 12th century, a Benedictine monk known as Voss von Rüdesheim authored a Latin chronicle detailing the history of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Blasien in the Black Forest region of Germany. His work provides valuable insight into the monastic life and cultural traditions of the time.
During the Renaissance period, a Dutch painter named Voss van Delft (c. 1580-1629) gained recognition for his portraits and genre scenes depicting everyday life in the Netherlands. His works are now housed in various museums across Europe.
Another notable figure bearing the name Voss was Johann Heinrich Voss (1751-1826), a German poet and translator who is best known for his influential translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey into German hexameter verse. His translations helped popularize the study of Greek literature in Germany and influenced subsequent generations of writers and scholars.
In more recent times, the American author and literary critic Ralph Ellison (1914-1994) wrote a famous novel titled "Invisible Man," which explores the themes of racial identity and social invisibility. The novel's protagonist, whose name is never revealed, is often referred to as "the Invisible Man" or simply "Invisible."
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Voss, highlighting its rich linguistic heritage and diverse cultural associations across various fields, from literature and art to religion and academia.
People
Voss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Voss as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Voss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Voss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 42 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Voss going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 8,160,818 US residents.
Is Voss a common name?
We classify Voss as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Voss most popular?
The single biggest year for Voss was 2014, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Voss is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Voss in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Voss a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Voss in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Voss still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Voss in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Voss can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Voss?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Voss, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.