2000
#108,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 152
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Dause
An occupational surname meaning dawdler or slow worker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Dause. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dause 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.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Dause in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dause, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dause
The surname DAUSE originated in Germany during the late medieval period. It is derived from the German word "daus", which means "deaf" or "hard of hearing". This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone with hearing difficulties.
The earliest recorded instances of the DAUSE surname can be traced back to the 14th century in various Germanic regions. In 1387, a man named Hans Dause was mentioned in a document from the city of Nuremberg. Another early record from 1412 refers to a certain Konrad Dausen, living in the town of Heidelberg.
Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the DAUSE name appeared in various spellings, such as Dausse, Dauß, and Dausen, reflecting the regional dialects and orthographic variations of the time. One notable bearer of this surname was Johann Dause, a Lutheran theologian born in 1529 in Marburg, who authored several influential works on Protestant doctrine.
In the 17th century, the DAUSE surname spread beyond the German territories due to migration and trade. Records from this period include Pieter Dause, a Dutch merchant born in 1612 who established a successful trading company in Amsterdam. Another individual of note was Christoph Dause, a German soldier born in 1645, who served in the imperial army during the latter stages of the Thirty Years' War.
As the DAUSE family proliferated, some members gained prominence in various fields. In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Dause (1730-1797) was a renowned composer and organist from Leipzig, while his contemporary, Wilhelm Dause (1743-1809), was a respected jurist and legal scholar from Frankfurt.
The 19th century saw several notable DAUSE individuals, including the German painter Karl Dause (1811-1891), known for his landscapes and portraits, and the Austrian author and playwright Theodor Dause (1839-1906), whose works often explored themes of social injustice and political reform.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dause
Among Census respondents with the surname Dause, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Dause 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 Dause surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.3% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native9.6% · 11
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Black or African American3.5% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dause
Dause 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
-21 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,672 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-16 bearers (-12.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,932 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #108,153 | 152 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 21,672 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.2%) | Down 15,932 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 Dause 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 | #129,825 | #145,757 | -12.3% |
| Count | 131 | 115 | -12.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dause bearers went from 131 to 115 (-12.2% change). The surname moved down 15,932 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #145,757.
FAQ
Dause surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dause?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Dause. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Dause?
Dause ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Dause. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Dause.
Has Dause become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dause went from 131 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 16 (-12.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Dause?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dause, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (9.6%) and Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Dause in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dause appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (9.6%), Two or More Races (6.1%). 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 Dause (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 Dause mean?
An occupational surname meaning dawdler or slow worker. 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 Dause (0.04 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 Dause?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.