2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Gaisser
An Austrian surname derived from the Middle High German word "geiz" meaning "goat."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Gaisser. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaisser 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Gaisser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaisser, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaisser
The surname Gaisser is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of modern-day Germany and Austria. The name likely emerged during the Middle Ages, somewhere between the 11th and 15th centuries.
One theory suggests that Gaisser is derived from the Old German word "geiz," which means "goat." This could indicate that the name was initially given to someone who raised or herded goats, or perhaps someone who lived in an area known for its goat population. Another potential origin is the Old German word "geissel," meaning "whip" or "scourge," which may have been used as a descriptive surname for a strict or disciplinarian individual.
While there are no definitive records of the name's appearance in historical manuscripts or documents like the Domesday Book, some of the earliest known instances of the Gaisser surname can be found in German church records and tax rolls from the 16th and 17th centuries. These early records often list variations in spelling, such as Geisser, Geyssere, and Geisere, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal inconsistencies of the time.
One notable bearer of the Gaisser name was Johann Gaisser (1592-1637), a German theologian and professor of philosophy at the University of Tübingen. In the realm of literature, the surname appears in the works of the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who mentions a character named Gaisser in his novel "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship" (1795-1796).
Other historical figures with the Gaisser surname include Karl Gaisser (1823-1899), an Austrian painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes, and Theodor Gaisser (1835-1902), a German philologist and classical scholar who specialized in the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts.
In the 19th century, the Gaisser name can be found in various regions of Germany and Austria, with concentrations in cities like Munich, Vienna, and Berlin. This suggests that the name had spread across a broader geographic area by this time, likely due to migration and population movements.
As the centuries progressed, individuals with the Gaisser surname left their mark in various fields, such as Johann Gaisser (1874-1946), an Austrian sculptor known for his religious works, and Hans Gaisser (1901-1971), a German athlete who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaisser
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaisser, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gaisser 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 Gaisser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 111
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaisser
Gaisser 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
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
-3 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,426 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-14 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 10,426 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 14,289 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 Gaisser 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 | #132,206 | #146,495 | -10.8% |
| Count | 128 | 114 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaisser bearers went from 128 to 114 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 14,289 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #146,495.
FAQ
Gaisser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaisser?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Gaisser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Gaisser?
Gaisser ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Gaisser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Gaisser.
Has Gaisser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaisser went from 128 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaisser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaisser, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Gaisser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaisser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Two or More Races (1.8%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Gaisser (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 Gaisser mean?
An Austrian surname derived from the Middle High German word "geiz" meaning "goat." 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 Gaisser (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 Americans have the surname Gaisser?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.