2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gerus
A surname indicating ancestral connection to the city of Gera, Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Gerus. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerus 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Gerus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerus, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerus
The surname "GERUS" is of Polish origin and is believed to have first emerged in the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Polish word "ger" which means "heron" or the bird of the same name. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a place where herons were commonly found or perhaps someone who had some association with these birds.
The earliest known recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the village of Gieruszyce in the Silesian region of Poland. It is likely that the name originated from this area and then spread to other parts of the country over time. In historical records from the 17th century, the name was sometimes spelled as "Gerusch" or "Gerusz" before the modern spelling became more standardized.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jan Gerus, a merchant who lived in the city of Krakow in the late 16th century. He is mentioned in several business records and transactions from that time period. Another notable individual with this surname was Wojciech Gerus, a Polish soldier who fought in the Polish-Swedish wars of the 17th century.
In the 19th century, there was a Polish writer named Ignacy Gerus who published several works of poetry and literature. He was born in 1818 and died in 1892. Around the same time, there was also a Polish artist named Franciszek Gerus who was known for his landscape paintings. He lived from 1826 to 1901.
Another prominent figure with the Gerus surname was Stanisław Gerus, a Polish politician and activist who played a role in the country's independence movement in the early 20th century. He was born in 1875 and died in 1942.
While the surname has its roots in Poland, it has also been found in other parts of Eastern Europe and among Polish diaspora communities around the world. However, its origins can be traced back to the Polish region and the meaning related to the heron bird.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerus
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerus, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerus 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 Gerus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.3% · 105
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerus
Gerus 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,212 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-6 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,064 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 9,212 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 6,064 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 Gerus 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 | #144,141 | #150,205 | -4.2% |
| Count | 115 | 109 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerus bearers went from 115 to 109 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 6,064 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #150,205.
FAQ
Gerus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerus?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Gerus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Gerus?
Gerus ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Gerus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Gerus.
Has Gerus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerus went from 115 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerus, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.3%. 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 Gerus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.3%), 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 Gerus (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 Gerus mean?
A surname indicating ancestral connection to the city of Gera, Germany. 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 Gerus (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 Gerus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.