2000
#559
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,296
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.13
Uncommon Last name
Bass
An English occupational surname referring to a bass player, fish seller, or bass weaver.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 62,499 Americans carry the last name Bass. That puts it at #601 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,484 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bass surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bass with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
62K
1 in 5,484
Census rank
#601
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
55K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 54,502 bearers of the surname Bass in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 601st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bass, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bass
Among Census respondents with the surname Bass, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Bass bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bass surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.6% · 36,274
- Black or African American23.8% · 12,987
- Two or more races4.6% · 2,497
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 2,011
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 403
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 330
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bass
Bass appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#589
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,044
+2,748 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 19.34
Rank movement Down 30 places
2020
#601
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,502
-2,542 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 18.23
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #559 | 54,296 | 20.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #589 | 57,044 | 19.34 | +2,748 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 30 places |
| 2020 | #601 | 54,502 | 18.23 | -2,542 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 12 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bass surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #589 | #601 | -2.0% |
| Count | 57,044 | 54,502 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 19.34 | 18.23 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bass bearers went from 57,044 to 54,502 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #589 to #601.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bass
FAQ
Bass surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bass?
Name Census estimates that about 62,499 living Americans carry the surname Bass. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,484 residents.
How common is Bass?
Bass ranks #601 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 54,502 people with the surname Bass. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (62,499), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Bass.
Has Bass become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bass went from 57,044 recorded bearers to 54,502. That is a decrease of 2,542 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #589 to #601.
What does the Census say about the background of Bass?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bass, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.6%. The next largest groups are Black (23.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bass in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.6% (36,274 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bass appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.6%), Black (23.8%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bass (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bass mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a bass player, fish seller, or bass weaver. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bass (18.23 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Bass?
If you just want to know how many people are called Bass, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.