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

Bass, 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 Bass surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bass in America

Bass is the 589th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bass surname appeared 57,044 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 19 people would have the surname Bass.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bass 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 Bass

The surname Bass is of English origin and derives from the Old English word 'bæss', meaning 'bass' or 'perch', a type of freshwater fish. It likely originated as an occupational surname for someone who fished or traded in bass.

The name Bass can be traced back to the late 12th century in England, with early recordings including William le Basse in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195 and Willelmus Bas in the Curia Regis Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1212.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of much of England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror, there is a reference to a place called 'Bassa' in Staffordshire, which may be related to the surname's origins.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Bass was John Bass, born around 1490 in Stafford, England. He is recorded as the founder of the renowned Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, which was established in 1777.

Another notable figure was Michael Thomas Bass, born in 1799 in Burton-upon-Trent, who was a famous English brewer and Member of Parliament. He significantly expanded the Bass Brewery and played a pivotal role in the company's success.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Bass is that of Samuel Bass, born in 1654 in Massachusetts. He was a prominent early settler and landowner in the colony.

The renowned American singer and actor, Lance Bass, who rose to fame as a member of the popular boy band NSYNC, was born in 1979 in Laurel, Mississippi.

Other notable individuals with the surname Bass include Sir Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton, born in 1837, an English brewer and philanthropist, and Samuel P. Bass, born in 1851, an American fur trader, scout, and frontiersman in the American Old West.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bass

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

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 Bass 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 Bass 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 Bass was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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