2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Jance
A surname of English origin likely derived from a diminutive form of the given name John.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Jance. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jance 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Jance in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jance, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jance
The surname Jance is believed to have originated in the area that is now modern-day Germany, likely during the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It may have derived from a Germanic occupational name referring to someone who worked as a jester or entertainer, from the Middle Low German word "jancken," meaning "to jest or joke."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jance can be found in the 1438 tax records of the city of Hamburg, where a certain Hanse Jance is mentioned as a resident. This suggests that the name was already well-established in northern Germany by the 15th century.
In the 16th century, the Jance surname appears to have spread to other parts of Europe, particularly the Netherlands and Scandinavia. A notable example is the Dutch artist Jan Jance van Essen, who was born in Utrecht in 1536 and is known for his religious paintings and portraits.
The Jance surname also has a presence in historical records from the British Isles, likely brought there by German or Dutch immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries. One notable figure was Sir John Jance, a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was born in 1785.
As the name spread across Europe, various spelling variations emerged, such as Janz, Janze, and Jansz. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and local naming conventions.
Other notable individuals with the surname Jance include:
1. Heinrich Jance, a German composer and organist who lived in the late 16th century and was known for his sacred choral works.
2. Anna Jance, a Dutch painter active in the early 17th century, known for her still-life paintings and portraits.
3. Wilhelm Jance, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1822, who made significant contributions to the study of planetary orbits and celestial mechanics.
4. Johanna Jance, a Norwegian novelist and poet born in 1875, whose works explored themes of nature, love, and the human condition.
5. Friedrich Jance, a German industrialist and entrepreneur born in 1892, who founded the Jance Machinery Company, a leading manufacturer of heavy equipment in the early 20th century.
While the Jance surname may have evolved over the centuries and spread across different regions, its origins can be traced back to the Germanic lands of medieval Europe, where it likely began as an occupational name or nickname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jance
Among Census respondents with the surname Jance, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jance 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 Jance surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 5
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jance
Jance 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+6 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,300 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 989 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.9%) | Down 3,300 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 989 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 Jance 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 | #152,628 | #151,639 | 0.6% |
| Count | 107 | 107 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jance bearers went from 107 to 107 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 989 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #151,639.
FAQ
Jance surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jance?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Jance. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Jance?
Jance ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 107 people with the surname Jance. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Jance.
Has Jance become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jance went from 107 recorded bearers to 107. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Jance?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jance, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Jance in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jance appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%), Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Jance (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 Jance mean?
A surname of English origin likely derived from a diminutive form of the given name John. 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 Jance (0.04 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 Jance?
Want to know how common the surname Jance is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.