2000
#5,873
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,397
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.00
Rare Last name
Busse
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "busse," meaning a type of long gun or firearm.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,727 Americans carry the last name Busse. That puts it at #6,532 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,849 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Busse 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
5.7K
1 in 59,849
Census rank
#6,532
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,994 bearers of the surname Busse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6532nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Busse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Busse
The surname Busse originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Low German word "busse," which means "bush" or "shrub." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a bush or a wooded area.
Busse is a fairly common surname in northern Germany, particularly in the regions of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in various town records and tax rolls from these areas.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hinrich Busse, a merchant from the city of Lübeck who was mentioned in a trade document from 1287. Another early record is of a Johann Busse, a landowner from the village of Bussendorf (literally "Busse's village") near Lüneburg, who was documented in 1315.
The Busse name can also be found in some medieval German manuscripts and chronicles, such as the "Sachsenspiegel" (Saxon Mirror), a legal code from the 13th century, where it appears as a variant spelling "Bussche."
Over the centuries, the Busse surname has been associated with various notable individuals, including Johann Gottfried Busse (1763-1829), a German theologian and author; Karl Busse (1872-1918), a German philosopher and educator; and Hermann Busse (1851-1931), a German landscape painter known for his depictions of the Black Forest region.
In the 19th century, the name appeared in records from the Prussian provinces of Pomerania and Silesia, suggesting that some Busse families had migrated eastward over time. One notable figure from this period was Friedrich Busse (1835-1898), a Prussian military officer and author who wrote extensively on military strategy and tactics.
While not as widespread as in Germany, the Busse surname can also be found in other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands and Scandinavia, likely due to migration patterns or variations in spelling and pronunciation over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Busse
Among Census respondents with the surname Busse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Busse 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 Busse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 4,558
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 202
- Two or more races2.8% · 138
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 36
- Black or African American0.5% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Busse
Busse 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
#6,370
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,344
-53 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 1.81
Rank movement Down 497 places
2020
#6,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,994
-350 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Down 162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,873 | 5,397 | 2.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,370 | 5,344 | 1.81 | -53 bearers (-1.0%) | Down 497 places |
| 2020 | #6,532 | 4,994 | 1.67 | -350 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 162 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 Busse 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 | #6,370 | #6,532 | -2.5% |
| Count | 5,344 | 4,994 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.81 | 1.67 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Busse bearers went from 5,344 to 4,994 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 162 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,370 to #6,532.
FAQ
Busse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Busse?
Name Census estimates that about 5,727 living Americans carry the surname Busse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,849 residents.
How common is Busse?
Busse ranks #6,532 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,994 people with the surname Busse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,727), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Busse.
Has Busse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Busse went from 5,344 recorded bearers to 4,994. That is a decrease of 350 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,370 to #6,532.
What does the Census say about the background of Busse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Busse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Busse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (4,558 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Busse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Busse (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 Busse mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "busse," meaning a type of long gun or firearm. 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 Busse (1.67 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 people have the surname Busse?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.