2000
#10,043
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,960
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Janzen
A Dutch and German patronymic surname derived from the given name Jan, a variant of John.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,492 Americans carry the last name Janzen. That puts it at #10,091 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 98,154 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Janzen 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
3.5K
1 in 98,154
Census rank
#10,091
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,045 bearers of the surname Janzen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10091st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Janzen, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Janzen
The surname Janzen has its roots in the Low German and Dutch languages, originating in the early 16th century. It is a patronymic name, derived from the personal name "Jan" or "Johannes," which was a popular name in the region during that time. The suffix "zen" or "sen" indicates "son of," so the name literally means "son of Jan" or "son of Johannes."
Janzen is predominantly found in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in the states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. It is also common in the neighboring Netherlands and parts of Denmark. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to church records and civil registries from the mid-16th century in these areas.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Gerrit Janzen, a Dutch merchant who lived in Amsterdam in the late 16th century. His son, Jan Gerritsz Janzen, was a prominent figure in the Dutch East India Company and served as a governor in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) in the early 17th century.
Another notable figure with the Janzen surname was Hans Janzen, a German Lutheran theologian and reformer who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He played a significant role in the Reformation movement in northern Germany and wrote several influential works on theology and religious doctrine.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, many Janzen families emigrated from Germany and the Netherlands to other parts of Europe and North America. One such individual was Johann Janzen, a German immigrant who settled in the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) in the early 19th century. He was part of a wave of German settlers who were invited to establish agricultural communities in the region by the Russian government.
In more recent times, notable individuals with the Janzen surname include Peter Janzen, a Canadian author and academic born in 1957, and Gerhard Janzen, a German-born American botanist and environmentalist (1939-2012) who made significant contributions to the study of plant ecology and conservation.
While the surname Janzen is most prevalent in northern Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of North America with significant German and Dutch immigrant populations, it has also spread to other regions through migration and cultural exchange over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janzen
Among Census respondents with the surname Janzen, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Janzen 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 Janzen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 2,708
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 158
- Two or more races4.2% · 128
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 24
- Black or African American0.5% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Janzen
Janzen 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
#10,465
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,072
+112 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 422 places
2020
#10,091
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,045
-27 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Up 374 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,043 | 2,960 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,465 | 3,072 | 1.04 | +112 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 422 places |
| 2020 | #10,091 | 3,045 | 1.02 | -27 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 374 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 Janzen 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 | #10,465 | #10,091 | 3.6% |
| Count | 3,072 | 3,045 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.04 | 1.02 | -2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Janzen bearers went from 3,072 to 3,045 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 374 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,465 to #10,091.
FAQ
Janzen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Janzen?
Name Census estimates that about 3,492 living Americans carry the surname Janzen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 98,154 residents.
How common is Janzen?
Janzen ranks #10,091 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 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 3,045 people with the surname Janzen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,492), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 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 Janzen.
Has Janzen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Janzen went from 3,072 recorded bearers to 3,045. That is a decrease of 27 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,465 to #10,091.
What does the Census say about the background of Janzen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Janzen, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Janzen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (2,708 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Janzen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Hispanic (5.2%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Janzen (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 Janzen mean?
A Dutch and German patronymic surname derived from the given name Jan, a variant of 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 Janzen (1.02 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 share the surname Janzen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.