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

Jahn, 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 Jahn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jahn in America

Jahn is the 6917th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jahn surname appeared 4,850 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Jahn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jahn 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 Jahn

The surname Jahn originates from Germany, where it first appeared in records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the German surname Johann, which is a variant of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious." The name Johann was a popular given name in medieval Germany, and over time, it evolved into various surnames, including Jahn.

Jahn is thought to have originated in the region of Saxony, where it was first recorded in the town of Jähnsdorf, near Bautzen. This town's name is derived from the German word "Jahn," which originally referred to a person named Johann who lived there or was associated with the area.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Jahn can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, which mentions a person named Henricus Jahn in 1290.

In the 15th century, the Jahn surname appears in various records across Germany, including the Nuremberg Chronicle, a famous illustrated world history book published in 1493. The book mentions a man named Kunz Jahn, a citizen of Nuremberg, who lived during that time.

Notable individuals with the surname Jahn include Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852), a German patriot and father of the Turnbewegung (gymnastics movement) in Germany. He was influential in promoting physical education and nationalism among the German people.

Another prominent figure was Otto Jahn (1813-1869), a German classical scholar and archaeologist who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek art and literature.

Erich Jahn (1892-1965) was a German painter and graphic artist known for his expressionist works, often depicting urban scenes and landscapes.

Hans Jahn (1876-1943) was a German engineer and pioneer in the field of rocket propulsion, who made important contributions to the development of early rocket engines.

Lastly, Johann Jakob Jahn (1803-1857) was a German Protestant theologian and Biblical scholar who authored several influential works on the interpretation of the Bible.

While the surname Jahn is primarily associated with Germany, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of Europe and beyond, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jahn

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!