2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Chrans
A surname believed to have originated from a location, possibly derived from a Welsh place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Chrans. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chrans 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Chrans in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chrans, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chrans
The surname CHRANS is believed to have originated in the region of Silesia, which is now part of modern-day Poland and Germany. The name can be traced back to the 14th century and is thought to be derived from the Old German word "chranc," meaning "strong" or "powerful."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the CHRANS surname appears in the Liber Fundationis Claustrorum, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century that documented the founding of monasteries and convents in Silesia. The name is listed as "Chrantz," which was likely a earlier spelling variation.
During the 15th century, the CHRANS name began to spread throughout central Europe, with notable individuals bearing the surname appearing in historical records. In 1472, a merchant named Hans Chrantz was mentioned in the city records of Krakow, Poland, indicating that the name had taken root in the area.
In the 16th century, the CHRANS surname was found in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Saxony and Brandenburg. One notable figure was Johann Chrans, a Lutheran theologian born in 1549 in the town of Wittenberg, who played a role in the Protestant Reformation.
The 17th century saw the CHRANS name appear in the Netherlands, with a merchant named Pieter Chrans being recorded in Amsterdam in 1612. Meanwhile, in England, the name was anglicized to "Crands" or "Crance," as evidenced by the baptismal record of William Crance in 1687 in the parish of St. Mary's in Warwickshire.
In the 18th century, the CHRANS surname gained prominence in the German states, with several notable individuals emerging. Johann Friedrich Chrans (1701-1782) was a renowned jurist and legal scholar from Saxony, while Friedrich Wilhelm Chrans (1726-1798) was a respected philosopher and educator from Brandenburg.
As the CHRANS name spread throughout Europe over the centuries, it has been associated with various occupations and professions, including merchants, scholars, artisans, and farmers. While not a particularly common surname, it has left a lasting legacy in the regions where it originated and flourished.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chrans
Among Census respondents with the surname Chrans, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Chrans 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 Chrans surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 94
- Two or more races4.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chrans
Chrans 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,531 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-8 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 5,835 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,531 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 5,835 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 Chrans 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 | #148,347 | #154,182 | -3.9% |
| Count | 111 | 103 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chrans bearers went from 111 to 103 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 5,835 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #154,182.
FAQ
Chrans surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chrans?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Chrans. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Chrans?
Chrans ranks #154,182 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 103 people with the surname Chrans. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), 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 Chrans.
Has Chrans become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chrans went from 111 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Chrans?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chrans, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%). 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 Chrans in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chrans appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.9%). 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 Chrans (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 Chrans mean?
A surname believed to have originated from a location, possibly derived from a Welsh place name. 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 Chrans (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 common is the surname Chrans?
You can see how many people have the last name Chrans on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.