2000
#59,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 318
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Ising
A surname referring to someone from the town of Ising in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 405 Americans carry the last name Ising. That puts it at #61,433 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 846,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ising 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
405
1 in 846,307
Census rank
#61,433
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
353
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 353 bearers of the surname Ising in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 61433rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ising, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ising
The surname Ising has its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots dating back to the early medieval period in Central Europe. The name is believed to have derived from the Old German word "ising," which translates to "iron" or "made of iron." This connection suggests that the name may have originally referred to an occupation or trade related to iron-working or metalsmithing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ising can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Raittenbuch, a 12th-century manuscript from the Raittenbuch Monastery in Bavaria, Germany. This document mentions an individual named Isingo, which is likely an early variation of the Ising surname.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name Ising began to appear more frequently in various records across parts of Germany and Austria. For instance, in 1296, a nobleman named Heinrich Ising was mentioned in the archives of the city of Nuremberg. Another notable individual was Johann Ising, a 14th-century theologian and rector of the University of Vienna.
The Ising surname can also be traced back to certain place names or localities in Germany and Austria, such as the village of Ising in Upper Bavaria, which may have contributed to the development and spread of the name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the Ising surname. One such figure was Ernst Ising (1900-1998), a German physicist best known for his work on the Ising model, a mathematical model used in statistical mechanics. Another prominent bearer of the name was Wilhelm Ising (1868-1958), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities.
Other individuals with the Ising surname include Johann Konrad Ising (1677-1737), a German composer and organist during the Baroque period, and Johann Adam Ising (1763-1827), a German painter and etcher who worked in the Neoclassical style. Additionally, the poet and writer Mathilde Ising (1830-1908), who was part of the German literary movement known as "Young Germany," also carried this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ising
Among Census respondents with the surname Ising, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ising 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 Ising surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 316
- Two or more races4.2% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 10
- Black or African American1.7% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ising
Ising 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
#59,901
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 337
+19 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 448 places
2020
#61,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 353
+16 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 1,532 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #59,453 | 318 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #59,901 | 337 | 0.11 | +19 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 448 places |
| 2020 | #61,433 | 353 | 0.12 | +16 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 1,532 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 Ising 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 | #59,901 | #61,433 | -2.6% |
| Count | 337 | 353 | 4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.12 | 7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ising bearers went from 337 to 353 (+4.7% change). The surname moved down 1,532 positions in the national ranking, going from #59,901 to #61,433.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ising
FAQ
Ising surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ising?
Name Census estimates that about 405 living Americans carry the surname Ising. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 846,307 residents.
How common is Ising?
Ising ranks #61,433 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 353 people with the surname Ising. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (405), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Ising.
Has Ising become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ising went from 337 recorded bearers to 353. That is an increase of 16 (+4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #59,901 to #61,433.
What does the Census say about the background of Ising?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ising, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Ising in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (316 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ising appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Ising (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 Ising mean?
A surname referring to someone from the town of Ising in Germany. 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 Ising (0.12 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 Ising?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.