2000
#3,199
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,271
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.81
Uncommon Last name
Glaser
An occupational surname referring to a glazier or glass blower.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,147 Americans carry the last name Glaser. That puts it at #3,579 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 30,749 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Glaser 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Glaser with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 30,749
Census rank
#3,579
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.7K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,721 bearers of the surname Glaser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3579th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaser, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Glaser
The surname Glaser is of German origin and can be traced back to the occupation of a glass-maker or glazier. The name is derived from the German word "glas," meaning glass, and likely emerged in the late medieval period when the glass-making industry began to flourish in Central Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Glaser can be found in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a famous illustrated world history published in 1493. This historical text mentions a glassmaker named Hans Glaser who lived in the 15th century and was renowned for his intricate stained glass works.
The Glaser name is also found in various German town records from the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly in regions known for their glassmaking traditions, such as Bavaria and Saxony. Notable examples include Johann Glaser (1551-1624), a renowned glassmaker from Nuremberg, and Andreas Glaser (1609-1675), a prominent glass engraver and etcher from Torgau.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Glaser surname spread across Europe as families migrated in search of new opportunities. One prominent figure was Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Glaser (1829-1902), a German-born philologist and linguist who specialized in the study of Slavic languages.
In the United States, the Glaser name can be traced back to the 19th century, with many immigrants arriving from German-speaking regions of Europe. One notable American with this surname was Milton Glaser (1929-2020), a renowned graphic designer best known for creating the famous "I ♥ NY" logo.
Other notable individuals with the Glaser surname include:
1. Donald Glaser (1926-2013), an American physicist and Nobel laureate who invented the bubble chamber for detecting ionizing radiation.
2. Georg Glaser (1910-1995), a German-born American mathematician and physicist known for his contributions to the field of combinatorics.
3. Judith Glaser (born 1945), an American author and organizational anthropologist who pioneered the concept of Conversational Intelligence.
4. Philipp Glaser (1936-2019), a Swiss-born German actor and voice actor who provided the German voice for characters like Winnie the Pooh and Shrek.
5. Yaakov Glaser (1920-2012), an Israeli writer and journalist who served as the editor-in-chief of the Hebrew newspaper Davar for over two decades.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glaser
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaser, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Glaser 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 Glaser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 8,904
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 336
- Two or more races3.3% · 316
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 79
- Black or African American0.5% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Glaser
Glaser 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
#3,493
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,235
-36 bearers (-0.4%)
Per 100,000 3.47
Rank movement Down 294 places
2020
#3,579
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,721
-514 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 3.25
Rank movement Down 86 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,199 | 10,271 | 3.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,493 | 10,235 | 3.47 | -36 bearers (-0.4%) | Down 294 places |
| 2020 | #3,579 | 9,721 | 3.25 | -514 bearers (-5.0%) | 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 Glaser 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 | #3,493 | #3,579 | -2.5% |
| Count | 10,235 | 9,721 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 3.47 | 3.25 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Glaser bearers went from 10,235 to 9,721 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 86 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,493 to #3,579.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Glaser
FAQ
Glaser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Glaser?
Name Census estimates that about 11,147 living Americans carry the surname Glaser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 30,749 residents.
How common is Glaser?
Glaser ranks #3,579 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,721 people with the surname Glaser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,147), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Glaser.
Has Glaser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Glaser went from 10,235 recorded bearers to 9,721. That is a decrease of 514 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,493 to #3,579.
What does the Census say about the background of Glaser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaser, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Glaser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (8,904 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Glaser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Glaser (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 Glaser mean?
An occupational surname referring to a glazier or glass blower. 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 Glaser (3.25 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 Glaser?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.