2000
#7,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,211
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.56
Rare Last name
Hoss
Derived from the German word for horse, referring to someone who worked with or rode horses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,571 Americans carry the last name Hoss. That puts it at #13,078 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,316 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoss 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 Hoss with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,316
Census rank
#13,078
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,242 bearers of the surname Hoss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13078th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoss, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoss
The surname Hoss is of German origin and dates back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German word "hose," which referred to a type of close-fitting trousers or leggings worn by men during that time period. The earliest recorded instances of the name appear in various regions of present-day Germany, particularly in the southern and central areas.
One of the earliest documented mentions of the Hoss surname can be found in the baptismal records of St. Peter's Church in Nuremberg, dating back to 1589. The name appears as "Hans Hoss," suggesting that it may have initially been an occupational surname given to individuals involved in the production or selling of hose garments.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Hoss name appeared in various historical records across Germany, including tax registers, property deeds, and military rolls. Notable individuals bearing this surname during this time period include Johann Hoss (1624-1688), a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Freiburg, and Hans Michael Hoss (1712-1786), a respected theologian and author from Heidelberg.
As the centuries progressed, the Hoss surname spread beyond Germany's borders, with some variations in spelling emerging, such as Hosse, Hosser, and Hossler. One notable example is Johann Georg Hossfeld (1784-1856), a German-American farmer and pioneer who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 19th century and whose descendants adopted the anglicized spelling "Hossfeld."
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several individuals with the Hoss surname achieved recognition in various fields. These include Hermann Hoss (1850-1924), a German architect known for his work on several notable buildings in Berlin, and Friedrich Hoss (1879-1957), a German botanist and explorer who conducted expeditions in South America and the Pacific Islands.
Another notable figure was Rudolph Hoss (1900-1947), the former commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, who was tried and convicted of war crimes after the war. While a tragic figure, his notoriety further contributed to the recognition of the Hoss surname on a global scale.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoss
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoss, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoss 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 Hoss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.8% · 1,968
- Two or more races4.6% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 73
- Black or African American2.4% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoss
Hoss 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
#10,565
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,033
-1,178 bearers (-28.0%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 3,267 places
2020
#13,078
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,242
-791 bearers (-26.1%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 2,513 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,298 | 4,211 | 1.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,565 | 3,033 | 1.03 | -1,178 bearers (-28.0%) | Down 3,267 places |
| 2020 | #13,078 | 2,242 | 0.75 | -791 bearers (-26.1%) | Down 2,513 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 Hoss 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 | #10,565 | #13,078 | -23.8% |
| Count | 3,033 | 2,242 | -26.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 0.75 | -27.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoss bearers went from 3,033 to 2,242 (-26.1% change). The surname moved down 2,513 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,565 to #13,078.
FAQ
Hoss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoss?
Name Census estimates that about 2,571 living Americans carry the surname Hoss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,316 residents.
How common is Hoss?
Hoss ranks #13,078 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,242 people with the surname Hoss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,571), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hoss.
Has Hoss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoss went from 3,033 recorded bearers to 2,242. That is a decrease of 791 (-26.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,565 to #13,078.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoss, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (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 Hoss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (1,968 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.8%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (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 Hoss (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 Hoss mean?
Derived from the German word for horse, referring to someone who worked with or rode horses. 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 Hoss (0.75 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 Hoss?
Find out how common the surname Hoss is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.