2000
#12,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,288
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Jacobus
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Jacob, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows after."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,596 Americans carry the last name Jacobus. That puts it at #12,967 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,032 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jacobus 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
2.6K
1 in 132,032
Census rank
#12,967
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,264 bearers of the surname Jacobus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12967th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jacobus, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jacobus
The surname Jacobus is an English derivative of the biblical name Jacob, which has its origins in the Hebrew name Ya'aqov. It is believed to have emerged as a surname in England during the Middle Ages, particularly in the 13th and 14th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Jacobus can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a man named Robert Jacobus is mentioned. This suggests that the surname was already in use by that time.
The Jacobus surname is thought to have originated from the practice of using patronymics, which were names derived from the given name of the father or ancestor. In this case, Jacobus likely indicated that the bearer was the son or descendant of a man named Jacob.
The surname is also found in various forms throughout historical records, such as Jacobs, Jacobson, and Jacobitz, reflecting different regional variations and spellings.
One notable individual with the surname Jacobus was Oliverius Jacobus, a 13th-century clergyman who served as the Bishop of Angers in France from 1234 to 1236. Another early example is Sir John Jacobus, a knight mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279.
In the 16th century, the Jacobus surname appears in the records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, where several individuals with this name were baptized, married, or buried between 1538 and 1598.
The Jacobus surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Jacobstowe in Devon, England, which was formerly known as "Jacobstow" in the Domesday Book of 1086. This suggests a possible connection between the surname and specific locations.
Other notable individuals with the Jacobus surname include:
1. Melchior Jacobus (1572-1634), a Dutch theologian and academic.
2. Ludovicus Jacobus (1598-1670), a Dutch jurist and diplomat.
3. Thomas Jacobus (1664-1724), an English mathematician and astronomer.
4. John Jacobus (1805-1877), an American clergyman and author.
5. Mary Parker Jacobus (1842-1907), an American educator and author.
While the Jacobus surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through migration and settlement patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jacobus
Among Census respondents with the surname Jacobus, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Jacobus 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 Jacobus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 2,019
- Two or more races3.6% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 77
- Black or African American2.1% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jacobus
Jacobus 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
#12,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,383
+95 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 457 places
2020
#12,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,264
-119 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 67 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,443 | 2,288 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,900 | 2,383 | 0.81 | +95 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 457 places |
| 2020 | #12,967 | 2,264 | 0.76 | -119 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 67 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 Jacobus 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 | #12,900 | #12,967 | -0.5% |
| Count | 2,383 | 2,264 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.76 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jacobus bearers went from 2,383 to 2,264 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 67 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,900 to #12,967.
FAQ
Jacobus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jacobus?
Name Census estimates that about 2,596 living Americans carry the surname Jacobus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,032 residents.
How common is Jacobus?
Jacobus ranks #12,967 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,264 people with the surname Jacobus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,596), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Jacobus.
Has Jacobus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jacobus went from 2,383 recorded bearers to 2,264. That is a decrease of 119 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,900 to #12,967.
What does the Census say about the background of Jacobus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jacobus, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Jacobus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (2,019 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jacobus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Jacobus (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 Jacobus mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Jacob, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows after." 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 Jacobus (0.76 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 people have the last name Jacobus?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Jacobus, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.