2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bauss
A surname derived from the German word 'baus' meaning swollen or arrogant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Bauss. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bauss 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.
Bearers in the US
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Bauss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bauss, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bauss
The surname Bauss is of German origin, with its roots tracing back to the 16th century. Its earliest recorded instances are found in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
The name Bauss is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "buoze," which translates to "farmer" or "peasant." This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who worked in agriculture or lived in a rural area.
In the historical records, one of the earliest known mentions of the name Bauss can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, dated 1573. These records document the birth of a child named Hans Bauss.
Another notable early reference to the name Bauss is in the Württembergisches Klosterbuch, a medieval manuscript that contains records of various monasteries in the region of Württemberg. In this document, a monk named Bruder Bauss is mentioned as a member of the Benedictine order in the late 15th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Bauss began to spread beyond its original geographical boundaries. Notable individuals bearing this surname during this time include Johann Bauss (1636-1697), a Lutheran theologian and educator from Saxony, and Friedrich Bauss (1782-1844), a German painter and engraver from Nuremberg.
In the 19th century, the name Bauss gained further prominence with individuals such as Karl Bauss (1813-1899), a German philologist and author who published works on the history of German literature, and Wilhelm Bauss (1853-1923), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.
Another significant figure with the surname Bauss was Hermann Bauss (1846-1920), a German-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Bauss Machine Tool Company in St. Louis, Missouri. His company played a crucial role in the industrialization of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the surname Bauss is not among the most common in Germany, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and has been carried by individuals from diverse professions, ranging from scholars and artists to industrialists and entrepreneurs.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bauss
Among Census respondents with the surname Bauss, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and Hispanic (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bauss 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 Bauss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 86
- Two or more races7.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 6
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bauss
Bauss appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-6 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 3,223 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 Bauss 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 | #151,532 | #154,755 | -2.1% |
| Count | 108 | 102 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bauss bearers went from 108 to 102 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 3,223 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #154,755.
FAQ
Bauss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bauss?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Bauss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Bauss?
Bauss ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 102 people with the surname Bauss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Bauss.
Has Bauss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bauss went from 108 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Bauss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bauss, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.8%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Bauss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bauss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), Two or More Races (7.8%), Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Bauss (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 Bauss mean?
A surname derived from the German word 'baus' meaning swollen or arrogant. 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 Bauss (0.03 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 many Americans have the surname Bauss?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.