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

Gress, 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 Gress surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gress in America

Gress is the 8556th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gress surname appeared 3,850 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Gress.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gress 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 Gress

The surname GRESS is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old Germanic word "gras," meaning grass or grassy meadow. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in or near a grassy area.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name GRESS can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony dating back to the 9th century. In this text, a certain "Gresso de Lipsia" (Gress of Leipzig) is mentioned as owning land near the city of Leipzig in the year 1249.

The name also appears in the Bederoll, a census-like record of property owners and taxpayers in the Electorate of Saxony from the 15th century. Several individuals with the surname GRESS are listed, including Hans Gress of Meissen (1427-1498) and Peter Gress of Dresden (1452-1519).

During the 16th century, the spelling of the name varied, with examples such as "Gresse," "Gresz," and "Grasz" appearing in various records and documents from different regions of Germany.

One notable figure in history with the surname GRESS was Johann Gress (1592-1668), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.

Another individual of note was Friedrich Gress (1768-1834), a German painter and engraver known for his landscapes and portraits. His works can be found in several art museums across Europe.

In the 19th century, the GRESS surname began to spread beyond Germany, with individuals bearing the name immigrating to other parts of Europe and North America. One example is Wilhelm Gress (1836-1902), a German-American politician and businessman who served as the mayor of Buffalo, New York, in the late 1800s.

Other notable individuals with the surname GRESS include Hans Gress (1878-1957), a Swiss architect known for his work on several iconic buildings in Zurich, and Edith Gress (1917-1992), an American novelist and playwright whose works explored themes of social justice and feminism.

Overall, the surname GRESS has a rich history that can be traced back to medieval Germany, where it likely originated as a descriptor of someone living in or near a grassy area. Over the centuries, individuals bearing this name have made significant contributions to various fields, including mathematics, art, politics, and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gress

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

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 Gress 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 Gress 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 Gress was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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