Find out how popular the last name Gonser is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gonser.

Gonser, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gonser surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gonser in America

Gonser is the 19782nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gonser surname appeared 1,360 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gonser.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gonser to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Gonser

The surname GONSER is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. The name is thought to derive from the German word "Gans," meaning "goose," and may have been an occupational surname for someone who raised or sold geese.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which mentions a "Conradus Gonser" in the year 1375.

In the 15th century, the name appears in various records from the region of Franconia, in present-day Bavaria. For example, a "Hans Gonser" is recorded as a citizen of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1482.

The GONSER surname is also found in the town of Mühlhausen, in the German state of Thuringia, where a "Nicolaus Gonser" is mentioned in a document from 1521.

One notable bearer of the name was Johann Georg Gonser (1636-1705), a German composer and organist from the town of Memmingen in Bavaria. He is best known for his contribution to the development of the Baroque organ style.

Another prominent figure was Johann Baptist Gonser (1801-1858), a Bavarian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848-1849, during the revolutionary upheavals in Germany.

In the 19th century, the GONSER surname also appears in records from Switzerland, indicating that some bearers of the name may have migrated from Germany to the neighboring country.

Other historical figures bearing the GONSER surname include:

1. Christoph Gonser (1596-1664), a German theologian and author from Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
2. Johann Michael Gonser (1737-1809), a German painter and engraver from Augsburg.
3. Karl Gonser (1860-1921), a German architect and urban planner from Stuttgart.
4. Ludwig Gonser (1869-1942), a German writer and journalist from Munich.
5. Gottfried Gonser (1908-1973), a German politician and member of the Bundestag from the Christian Social Union party.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gonser

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gonser.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gonser was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gonser has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gonser was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gonser, please contact us.

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