2000
#5,668
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,616
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.08
Rare Last name
Cress
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a watercress bed or stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,121 Americans carry the last name Cress. That puts it at #6,154 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,996 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cress 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 Cress with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.1K
1 in 55,996
Census rank
#6,154
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,338 bearers of the surname Cress in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6154th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cress, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cress
The surname Cress has its origins in England and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'cresse', meaning watercress, a pungent-flavored plant that grows in streams and marshes. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived near a watercress patch or worked with the plant.
One of the earliest records of the name Cress can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a person named Gaufridus Cresse is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also lists several individuals with the surname Cress, including William Cresse from Oxfordshire and Robert Cresse from Cambridgeshire.
In the 13th century, the name Cress appeared in various spellings, such as Cresse, Crasse, and Creys, reflecting the phonetic variations of the time. The Subsidy Rolls of 1327 record a John Crays from Worcestershire, while the Hearth Tax Returns of 1662 mention a Thomas Crass from Gloucestershire.
One notable figure in history with the surname Cress was Robert Cress, an English clergyman and academic who lived from 1557 to 1642. He served as the Rector of Ickworth in Suffolk and was a fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge.
Another individual of note was Sir John Cress, a Knight of the Shire for Suffolk who was elected to the House of Commons in 1554. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in England during the reign of Queen Mary I.
In the 17th century, the name Cress was associated with the village of Cresswell in Northumberland, suggesting a possible connection between the surname and a place name. William Cress, born in 1621, was a notable resident of Cresswell and served as the village's constable.
Moving into the 18th century, we find Thomas Cress (1672-1744), a prominent English landowner and businessman from Gloucestershire. He was involved in the wool trade and owned several estates in the region.
Finally, in the 19th century, James Cress (1819-1892) was a renowned horticulturist and nurseryman from Hertfordshire. He introduced several new varieties of vegetables and wrote extensively on gardening techniques.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cress
Among Census respondents with the surname Cress, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Cress 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 Cress surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 4,816
- Two or more races3.8% · 205
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 172
- Black or African American1.5% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cress
Cress 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
#6,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,565
-51 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 1.89
Rank movement Down 485 places
2020
#6,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,338
-227 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,668 | 5,616 | 2.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,153 | 5,565 | 1.89 | -51 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 485 places |
| 2020 | #6,154 | 5,338 | 1.79 | -227 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 1 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 Cress 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 | #6,153 | #6,154 | -0.0% |
| Count | 5,565 | 5,338 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.89 | 1.79 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cress bearers went from 5,565 to 5,338 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,153 to #6,154.
FAQ
Cress surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cress?
Name Census estimates that about 6,121 living Americans carry the surname Cress. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,996 residents.
How common is Cress?
Cress ranks #6,154 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,338 people with the surname Cress. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,121), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Cress.
Has Cress become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cress went from 5,565 recorded bearers to 5,338. That is a decrease of 227 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,153 to #6,154.
What does the Census say about the background of Cress?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cress, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Cress in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (4,816 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cress appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Cress (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 Cress mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a watercress bed or stream. 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 Cress (1.79 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 Americans have the surname Cress?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.