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

Janss, 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 Janss surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Janss in America

Janss is the 114424th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Janss surname appeared 153 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Janss.

We can also compare 2010 data for Janss 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 Janss

The surname Janss originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "jans," which was a shortened form of the personal name "Jan," the Dutch equivalent of the English name "John." This name was common in the Low Countries and may have originally been a patronymic, meaning "son of Jan."

In the early 1600s, the name Janss appeared in various records and documents from the provinces of Holland and Utrecht. For instance, a man named Cornelis Janss was listed as a resident of Amsterdam in 1621, while a merchant named Dirck Janss was recorded in the city of Utrecht in 1632.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Janss was Pieter Janss, a Dutch sailor and explorer who was born around 1575 in the town of Hoorn. He gained notoriety for his involvement in several expeditions to the Arctic regions in the early 17th century, including a voyage to Novaya Zemlya in 1609-1610.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Janss continued to be found in various parts of the Netherlands, often with slight variations in spelling such as Janse, Jansz, or Jansen. One notable figure was Joannes Janss, a Dutch painter who was born in Amsterdam in 1660 and became known for his portraiture and genre scenes.

In the 19th century, a prominent bearer of the Janss surname was Pieter Janssens, a Belgian painter born in Antwerp in 1801. He was a member of the Romantic movement and is particularly renowned for his historical and religious works, such as "The Entry of Christ into Brussels" and "The Martyrdom of St. Andrew."

Another individual of note was Gerard Janss, a Dutch businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1837 to 1917. He made his fortune in the textile industry and was known for his charitable contributions, including the establishment of a fund to support education and cultural initiatives in his hometown of Tilburg.

As the name Janss spread across Europe and beyond, it has been borne by various individuals throughout history, including writers, artists, and professionals from diverse fields. However, the origins of this surname can be traced back to the Netherlands, where it emerged as a patronymic during the 16th century and has since become a well-established Dutch surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Janss

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

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

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

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