Find out how popular the last name Angst is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Angst.

Angst, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Angst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Angst in America

Angst is the 29231st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Angst surname appeared 810 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Angst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Angst to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Angst

The surname Angst is of German origin, deriving from the Old High German word "angs" or "angust," which means fear, anxiety, or distress. This word is believed to have its roots in the Proto-Indo-European word "*anghu-," meaning constricted or tight.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Angst date back to the 13th century in various parts of German-speaking regions, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Switzerland. The name was often used to describe individuals who exhibited anxious or fearful behaviors, or those who lived in areas known for their treacherous terrain or harsh living conditions.

In the 14th century, records show the name Angst appearing in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of documents related to the history of Saxony. One notable entry from 1362 mentions a certain "Henricus Angst" who was involved in a legal dispute over land ownership.

The surname Angst has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One such individual was Johann Angst (1565-1642), a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on religious topics and served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Karl Friedrich Angst (1827-1888), a Swiss politician and businessman who played a significant role in the industrialization of his hometown of Winterthur. He was also a member of the Swiss Federal Council, serving as the head of the Federal Department of Trade and Agriculture from 1876 to 1878.

In the 19th century, the name Angst gained further recognition through the work of the German philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), who explored the concept of existential anxiety and its relationship to human existence in his writings, coining the term "Angst" as a philosophical concept.

Other notable individuals with the surname Angst include the Swiss painter and sculptor Hans Angst (1920-2003), known for his abstract expressionist works, and the German-American psychologist Robert Angst (1921-2015), who made significant contributions to the field of clinical psychology and the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Throughout its history, the surname Angst has been found in various spellings and variations, such as Angstmann, Angstler, and Angstenberger, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic variations within German-speaking areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Angst

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Angst.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Angst was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Angst has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Angst was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Angst, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!