2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Duhs
A surname derived from the Scottish place name Dowis or Dows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Duhs. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Duhs 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Duhs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Duhs, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Duhs
The surname DUHS has its origins in the German state of Bavaria, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "dūhsen," which means "to stoop" or "to bend over." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone with a distinctive physical characteristic or occupation requiring stooping or bending.
In the early 1500s, records show the name spelled as "Duhser" or "Duhss" among families living in the small towns and villages around the city of Augsburg. As families migrated across Europe, the spelling evolved into the current form, "DUHS."
One of the earliest documented references to the name DUHS can be found in a 1612 parish record from the town of Kirchheim, where a Johann Duhs was listed as a local merchant. Another notable early record is a 1637 entry in the city records of Nuremberg, which mentions a Matthias Duhs, a master carpenter.
In the 18th century, the name appears in various historical documents from the German states. For instance, a Johann Friedrich Duhs (1721-1793) was a respected Lutheran theologian and author of several religious texts. Another notable bearer of the name was Karl Duhs (1786-1864), a Bavarian politician who served as a member of the Landtag (state parliament).
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world through immigration. One notable example is William Duhs (1839-1914), a German-born immigrant to the United States who became a successful businessman and philanthropist in the city of Chicago.
Other notable individuals with the surname DUHS include:
- Johann Duhs (1868-1943), a German educator and author of several textbooks on mathematics and physics.
- Helene Duhs (1892-1980), a German artist known for her landscape paintings and woodcut prints.
- Erich Duhs (1920-2005), a German-born engineer who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II.
- Gerhard Duhs (1927-2001), a German-American mathematician and computer scientist who worked on early computer systems at IBM.
- Markus Duhs (born 1968), a German entrepreneur and co-founder of the successful online travel company, Expedia.
While the surname DUHS may not be among the most common in the world, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and reflects the cultural and linguistic heritage of its German origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duhs
Among Census respondents with the surname Duhs, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Duhs 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 Duhs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 109
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Duhs
Duhs 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+18 bearers (+17.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,791 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-5 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +18 bearers (+17.5%) | Up 8,791 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 6,724 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 Duhs 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 | #138,304 | #145,028 | -4.9% |
| Count | 121 | 116 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Duhs bearers went from 121 to 116 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 6,724 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #145,028.
FAQ
Duhs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Duhs?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Duhs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Duhs?
Duhs ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Duhs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Duhs.
Has Duhs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Duhs went from 121 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Duhs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Duhs, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Duhs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Duhs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Black (2.6%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Duhs (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 Duhs mean?
A surname derived from the Scottish place name Dowis or Dows. 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 Duhs (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 Duhs?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.