2000
#4,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,574
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.44
Rare Last name
Giese
Derived from the Germanic word "gis," meaning "hostage" or "pledge," likely referring to a guarantor or trustee.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,143 Americans carry the last name Giese. That puts it at #5,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 47,985 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Giese 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
7.1K
1 in 47,985
Census rank
#5,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,229 bearers of the surname Giese in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Giese, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Giese
The surname Giese is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Low German word "giesen," which means "to pour" or "to stream," suggesting a possible occupational connection to brewing or water-related trades.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Giese name was Hans Giese, a brewer who lived in the town of Lübeck, Germany, in the late 1500s. His occupation as a brewer lends credence to the theory that the name originated from the word "giesen" and its association with liquid-related professions.
In the 17th century, the Giese name appeared in various records across northern Germany, including church registers and municipal documents. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Giese, a scholar and writer born in Lüneburg in 1612, and Joachim Giese, a merchant from Hamburg who lived in the latter half of the 1600s.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land ownership in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any references to the Giese surname, indicating that its origins were likely confined to Germanic regions during the medieval period.
As the Giese name spread throughout Germany over the centuries, it also became associated with various place names, such as Giesendorf, a village in Saxony-Anhalt, and Giesenhausen, a town in Lower Saxony. These place names may have influenced the spelling variations of the surname, including Giesen, Giesse, and Giesecke.
Notable bearers of the Giese surname in more recent history include Johann Giese (1761-1840), a German jurist and legal scholar; Friedrich Giese (1825-1899), a German architect known for his work on the Semper Opera House in Dresden; and Else Giese (1888-1975), a German author and children's book writer.
Other prominent individuals with the Giese surname include Wilhelm Giese (1895-1966), a German general during World War II; Theodor Giese (1890-1976), a German politician and member of the Reichstag; and Hans Giese (1893-1968), a German-American scientist and zoologist who made significant contributions to the study of marine biology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Giese
Among Census respondents with the surname Giese, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Giese 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 Giese surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 5,813
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 196
- Two or more races2.5% · 156
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 30
- Black or African American0.3% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Giese
Giese 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
#5,319
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,553
-21 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Down 409 places
2020
#5,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,229
-324 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 2.08
Rank movement Down 86 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,910 | 6,574 | 2.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,319 | 6,553 | 2.22 | -21 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 409 places |
| 2020 | #5,405 | 6,229 | 2.08 | -324 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 86 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 Giese 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 | #5,319 | #5,405 | -1.6% |
| Count | 6,553 | 6,229 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.22 | 2.08 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Giese bearers went from 6,553 to 6,229 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 86 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,319 to #5,405.
FAQ
Giese surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Giese?
Name Census estimates that about 7,143 living Americans carry the surname Giese. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 47,985 residents.
How common is Giese?
Giese ranks #5,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.08 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 6,229 people with the surname Giese. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,143), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.08 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 Giese.
Has Giese become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Giese went from 6,553 recorded bearers to 6,229. That is a decrease of 324 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,319 to #5,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Giese?
Among Census respondents with the surname Giese, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Giese in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (5,813 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Giese appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Giese (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 Giese mean?
Derived from the Germanic word "gis," meaning "hostage" or "pledge," likely referring to a guarantor or trustee. 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 Giese (2.08 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 Giese?
You can see how common the surname Giese is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.