2000
#8,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,634
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.35
Rare Last name
Coss
A metonymic occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked at a coastal headland or promontory.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,657 Americans carry the last name Coss. That puts it at #7,831 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,600 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coss 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Coss with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 73,600
Census rank
#7,831
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,061 bearers of the surname Coss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7831st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coss, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (42.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coss
Among Census respondents with the surname Coss, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (42.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Coss 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 Coss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.4% · 2,170
- Hispanic or Latino42.2% · 1,714
- Two or more races2.2% · 90
- Black or African American1.0% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coss
Coss 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
#7,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,156
+522 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Up 405 places
2020
#7,831
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,061
-95 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Up 130 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,366 | 3,634 | 1.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,961 | 4,156 | 1.41 | +522 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 405 places |
| 2020 | #7,831 | 4,061 | 1.36 | -95 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 130 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 Coss 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 | #7,961 | #7,831 | 1.6% |
| Count | 4,156 | 4,061 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.41 | 1.36 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coss bearers went from 4,156 to 4,061 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 130 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,961 to #7,831.
FAQ
Coss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coss?
Name Census estimates that about 4,657 living Americans carry the surname Coss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,600 residents.
How common is Coss?
Coss ranks #7,831 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,061 people with the surname Coss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,657), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Coss.
Has Coss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coss went from 4,156 recorded bearers to 4,061. That is a decrease of 95 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,961 to #7,831.
What does the Census say about the background of Coss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coss, the largest self-reported group is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (42.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Coss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.4% (2,170 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (53.4%), Hispanic (42.2%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Coss (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 Coss mean?
A metonymic occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked at a coastal headland or promontory. 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 Coss (1.36 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 Coss?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.