2000
#6,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,235
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.94
Rare Last name
Gause
Derived from the Middle English word "gos," referring to a goose, likely denoting a goose herder or hunter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,800 Americans carry the last name Gause. That puts it at #6,460 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,096 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gause 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
5.8K
1 in 59,096
Census rank
#6,460
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,058 bearers of the surname Gause in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6460th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gause, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.4%. The next largest groups are White (41.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gause
The surname Gause is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "Gaus," which means a person from a specific district or region. The name first appeared in the southern German states during the Middle Ages, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg.
Records show that the name Gause was mentioned in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the Duchy of Austria, dating back to the 12th century. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Rudiger Gause, a farmer from the town of Rottenburg in Baden-Wurttemberg, who lived in the late 13th century.
In the 15th century, the name Gause appeared in the town records of Nuremberg, where it was often spelled as "Gawse" or "Gawsen." Johann Gause, a wealthy merchant from Nuremberg, was a prominent figure in the city's trade guilds during this time.
The Gause family later spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries, including Switzerland and Austria. Notable individuals with this surname include Hans Gause (1553-1611), a German composer and organist from Dresden, and Karl Friedrich Gause (1784-1857), a Prussian military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
In the 19th century, some members of the Gause family immigrated to the United States, where the name was sometimes anglicized to "Goss" or "Goss." One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname in America was Johann Gause, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1732 from the German Palatinate region.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gause include Richard Gause (1906-1986), an American biochemist and molecular biologist known for his research on nucleic acids, and John Gause (1922-2004), an American actor and television personality best known for his role in the sitcom "The Jeffersons."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gause
Among Census respondents with the surname Gause, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.4%. The next largest groups are White (41.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Gause 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 Gause surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American50.4% · 2,550
- White41.6% · 2,102
- Two or more races4.4% · 221
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 135
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gause
Gause 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
#6,111
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,610
+375 bearers (+7.2%)
Per 100,000 1.90
Rank movement Down 69 places
2020
#6,460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,058
-552 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 1.69
Rank movement Down 349 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,042 | 5,235 | 1.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,111 | 5,610 | 1.90 | +375 bearers (+7.2%) | Down 69 places |
| 2020 | #6,460 | 5,058 | 1.69 | -552 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 349 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 Gause 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 | #6,111 | #6,460 | -5.7% |
| Count | 5,610 | 5,058 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.90 | 1.69 | -10.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gause bearers went from 5,610 to 5,058 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 349 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,111 to #6,460.
FAQ
Gause surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gause?
Name Census estimates that about 5,800 living Americans carry the surname Gause. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,096 residents.
How common is Gause?
Gause ranks #6,460 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.69 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 5,058 people with the surname Gause. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,800), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.69 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 Gause.
Has Gause become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gause went from 5,610 recorded bearers to 5,058. That is a decrease of 552 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,111 to #6,460.
What does the Census say about the background of Gause?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gause, the largest self-reported group is Black at 50.4%. The next largest groups are White (41.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gause in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.4% (2,550 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gause appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (50.4%), White (41.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Gause (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 Gause mean?
Derived from the Middle English word "gos," referring to a goose, likely denoting a goose herder or hunter. 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 Gause (1.69 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 common is the surname Gause?
Find out how many people have the surname Gause on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.