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

Coss, 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 Coss surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coss in America

Coss is the 7961st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coss surname appeared 4,156 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 Coss.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coss 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 Coss

The surname Coss has its origin in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Kotz," which means a small farmhouse or cottage. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational name for someone who lived in a small farmhouse or cottage.

One of the earliest known references to the name Coss can be found in the church records of Hesse, Germany, from the mid-16th century. These records mention a family by the name of Coss residing in the village of Neukirchen.

The name Coss is also found in various other regions of Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony, with slight variations in spelling, like Koss or Koz. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and differences in pronunciation.

An early recorded bearer of the name Coss was Hans Coss, a farmer from the town of Hameln in Lower Saxony, who lived in the late 16th century. Another notable figure was Johann Coss, a Lutheran pastor from Saxony, who lived in the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, the name Coss appeared in the United States, likely brought by German immigrants. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Johann Coss, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1749 from the Palatinate region of Germany.

Notable individuals with the surname Coss include Johann Baptist Coss (1754-1828), a German composer and organist, and Wilhelm Coss (1832-1913), a German-American artist and lithographer who settled in New York City.

Other historical figures bearing the name Coss include Gottfried Coss, a German theologian from Saxony in the late 17th century, and Johann Georg Coss, a German military officer who served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century.

Overall, the surname Coss has a rich history spanning several centuries, with its origins deeply rooted in the German language and culture. While the name may have initially been an occupational descriptor, it has since become a distinctive family name carried by individuals from various walks of life.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coss

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

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

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

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