2000
#39,617
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 522
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Glaus
An Americanized German surname meaning "belief" or "faith" in European origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 616 Americans carry the last name Glaus. That puts it at #43,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 556,419 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Glaus 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
616
1 in 556,419
Census rank
#43,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
537
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 537 bearers of the surname Glaus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Glaus
The surname Glaus originates from the German-speaking regions of Switzerland and Germany, with records dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the medieval German word "glanz," meaning "brilliance" or "shine," which could have been used as a descriptive name for someone with a bright or shining personality.
In Switzerland, the earliest recorded instance of the Glaus surname can be found in the canton of St. Gallen, where a certain Hans Glaus was mentioned in a church register in 1589. The name also appeared in the neighboring canton of Appenzell, with a Johannes Glaus listed in a census record from 1612.
As the name spread throughout the German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, including Glauss, Glauz, and Glauß. One notable early bearer of the name was Johann Glaus (1598-1668), a Swiss theologian and professor at the University of Basel.
In Germany, the Glaus surname can be traced back to the 17th century, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. A prominent figure from this era was Georg Glaus (1645-1712), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Bavaria.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Glaus name continued to appear in various German-language records and documents. For example, Johann Glaus (1757-1828) was a Swiss-born painter and engraver who worked in Vienna, while Johann Baptist Glaus (1808-1879) was a German architect and builder known for his work on churches and other structures in Bavaria.
Another notable bearer of the Glaus surname was Johann Jakob Glaus (1776-1847), a Swiss politician and jurist who played a key role in the formation of the Swiss federal state in the early 19th century.
In more recent times, the Glaus name has been carried by individuals such as Franz Glaus (1899-1983), a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council, and Eugen Glaus (1878-1945), a Swiss architect and urban planner who designed numerous buildings and urban developments in Zurich and other Swiss cities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glaus
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Glaus 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 Glaus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 505
- Two or more races2.8% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Glaus
Glaus 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
#44,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 485
-37 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 4,739 places
2020
#43,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 537
+52 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Up 1,017 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #39,617 | 522 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,356 | 485 | 0.16 | -37 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 4,739 places |
| 2020 | #43,339 | 537 | 0.18 | +52 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 1,017 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 Glaus 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 | #44,356 | #43,339 | 2.3% |
| Count | 485 | 537 | 10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.18 | 12.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Glaus bearers went from 485 to 537 (+10.7% change). The surname moved up 1,017 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,356 to #43,339.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Glaus
FAQ
Glaus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Glaus?
Name Census estimates that about 616 living Americans carry the surname Glaus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 556,419 residents.
How common is Glaus?
Glaus ranks #43,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 537 people with the surname Glaus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (616), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Glaus.
Has Glaus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Glaus went from 485 recorded bearers to 537. That is an increase of 52 (+10.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #44,356 to #43,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Glaus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Glaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Glaus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (505 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Glaus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Glaus (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 Glaus mean?
An Americanized German surname meaning "belief" or "faith" in European origin. 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 Glaus (0.18 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 Glaus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.