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

Claus, 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 Claus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Claus in America

Claus is the 8911th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Claus surname appeared 3,674 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Claus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Claus 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 Claus

The surname CLAUS is of German origin, derived from the given name Claus, a shortened form of Niklaus or Nikolaus, the German version of the name Nicholas. The name traces its roots back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname CLAUS can be found in the Ratzeburger Zübel, a medieval record book from the town of Ratzeburg, dating back to the year 1262. An entry mentions a certain "Claus de Molen."

In the 14th century, the surname CLAUS appeared in various German regions, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Silesia. One notable early bearer of the name was Claus von Wernigerode (c. 1330-1407), a German monk and chronicler from the town of Wernigerode.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the CLAUS surname gained prominence in regions such as Hesse, Thuringia, and Brandenburg. In the 1500s, a certain Claus von Bora (c. 1490-1548), a German nobleman from Saxony, became known for being the husband of the former nun Katharina von Bora, who was married to Martin Luther.

In the 17th century, the surname CLAUS spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Scandinavia. One notable bearer of the name was Claus Christoffersen Lonborg (1628-1699), a Danish physician and botanist.

The 18th century saw the CLAUS surname appear in various records across Germany and other parts of Europe. One notable individual was Claus Daniel Eckhardtsen (1719-1789), a German-Danish naval officer and explorer who participated in several expeditions to Greenland.

As the name CLAUS continued to spread throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, it gained recognition in various fields. One example is Claus Pavels Sluter (1835-1912), a Norwegian architect who designed several prominent buildings in Oslo.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Claus

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

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

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

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