2000
#35,522
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 599
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.22
Very Rare Last name
Jann
A variation of the French surname "Jean" derived from the Hebrew name "Yohanan" meaning "God is gracious".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 651 Americans carry the last name Jann. That puts it at #41,313 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 526,504 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jann 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
651
1 in 526,504
Census rank
#41,313
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
568
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 568 bearers of the surname Jann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 41313th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jann, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jann
The surname JANN is believed to have originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is thought to derive from the German word "Johan" or "Johann," which is a variant of the biblical name John. This name has its roots in the Hebrew word "Yochanan," meaning "Graced by God" or "Yahweh is gracious."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname JANN can be found in the town of Nürnberg, Bavaria, where a family by the name of Jann is mentioned in local records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed that this family may have been among the first to adopt the surname JANN as a hereditary name.
In the late 15th century, a man named Hans Jann was recorded as a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of Augsburg, which was a major center of trade and commerce during that time. His success and wealth likely contributed to the spread and recognition of the JANN surname in the region.
During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname JANN was Johann Jann, a Lutheran theologian and reformer who lived from 1499 to 1574. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and played a significant role in shaping the religious landscape of Germany.
Another notable bearer of the JANN surname was Friedrich Jann, a German philosopher and scholar who lived from 1785 to 1847. He was a prominent figure in the field of idealism and wrote extensively on topics such as metaphysics and ethics.
In the 19th century, a famous German painter named Wilhelm Jann (1825-1888) gained recognition for his landscapes and genre scenes, which were widely admired for their realism and attention to detail.
While the surname JANN is predominantly found in Germany, it has also been recorded in other parts of Europe, including France and Switzerland, likely due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jann
Among Census respondents with the surname Jann, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jann 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 Jann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.3% · 445
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.1% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 21
- Two or more races3.2% · 18
- Black or African American2.1% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jann
Jann 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
#37,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 590
-9 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 2,169 places
2020
#41,313
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 568
-22 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Down 3,622 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #35,522 | 599 | 0.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #37,691 | 590 | 0.20 | -9 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 2,169 places |
| 2020 | #41,313 | 568 | 0.19 | -22 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 3,622 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 Jann 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 | #37,691 | #41,313 | -9.6% |
| Count | 590 | 568 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.20 | 0.19 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jann bearers went from 590 to 568 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 3,622 positions in the national ranking, going from #37,691 to #41,313.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Jann
FAQ
Jann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jann?
Name Census estimates that about 651 living Americans carry the surname Jann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 526,504 residents.
How common is Jann?
Jann ranks #41,313 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.19 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 568 people with the surname Jann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (651), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.19 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 Jann.
Has Jann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jann went from 590 recorded bearers to 568. That is a decrease of 22 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #37,691 to #41,313.
What does the Census say about the background of Jann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jann, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Jann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (445 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Jann (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 Jann mean?
A variation of the French surname "Jean" derived from the Hebrew name "Yohanan" meaning "God is gracious". 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 Jann (0.19 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 Jann?
Want to know how many people have the surname Jann? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.