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

Congress, 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 Congress surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Congress in America

Congress is the 77788th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Congress surname appeared 246 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Congress.

We can also compare 2010 data for Congress 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 Congress

The surname Congress is of English origin, derived from the word "congress," which means a formal meeting or assembly. The name likely originated in the late 16th or early 17th century, during a time when political assemblies and parliamentary systems were gaining prominence in England.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Congress can be traced back to the 17th century in various parish records and historical documents. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was William Congress, who was born in 1632 in Wiltshire, England.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Congress was primarily concentrated in the southern counties of England, particularly in Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire. It is possible that the name may have originated from a place name or a descriptive term referring to someone associated with a particular congress or assembly.

One notable bearer of the surname Congress was Sir Barnham Congress, who lived from 1690 to 1767 and served as a Member of Parliament for Maldon in Essex from 1722 to 1727. Another individual of note was John Congress, born in 1767 in Dorset, who was a renowned architect and designed several notable buildings in the region.

In the 19th century, the surname Congress began to spread more widely across England and other parts of the British Isles. Samuel Congress, born in 1812 in Somerset, was a prominent figure in the early trade union movement and advocated for workers' rights.

As the British Empire expanded, the surname Congress also found its way to various colonies and territories. One such individual was Robert Congress, born in 1845 in Lancashire, England, who later emigrated to South Africa and became a successful businessman in Cape Town.

While the surname Congress is not among the most common surnames in the English-speaking world, it has persisted through the centuries and continues to be found in various regions, particularly in England and its former colonies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Congress

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

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

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

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