2000
#8,911
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,378
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.25
Rare Last name
Johannes
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Johann" or "son of John" in German, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,613 Americans carry the last name Johannes. That puts it at #9,812 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,867 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Johannes 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Johannes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 94,867
Census rank
#9,812
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,151 bearers of the surname Johannes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9812th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Johannes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Johannes
The surname JOHANNES is of German origin, derived from the given name Johannes, which is the German form of the biblical name John. The name can be traced back to medieval times, around the 12th century.
The name JOHANNES is believed to have originated in the regions of modern-day Germany, particularly in areas such as Bavaria and Saxony. It is thought to be derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, which means "Yahweh is gracious."
In the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the 12th century, there are records of individuals bearing the surname JOHANNES. One notable example is Konrad JOHANNES, a nobleman from the Palatinate region of Germany, mentioned in a document dated 1189.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname JOHANNES can be found in the Breviarium Sanctae Lucie Virginis, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, which mentions a scribe named Johannes JOHANNES from the town of Speyer in Rhineland-Palatinate.
During the Middle Ages, the surname JOHANNES was often associated with clerics and scholars, as the name had a strong biblical connection. One notable figure was Johannes JOHANNES, a German theologian and reformer from Nuremberg, who lived from 1463 to 1522.
In the 16th century, the name JOHANNES gained prominence with Johannes JOHANNES, a German cartographer and engraver from Duisburg, who produced some of the earliest modern maps of Europe between 1515 and 1573.
Another famous bearer of the surname was Johannes JOHANNES, a German astronomer and mathematician from Erfurt, who lived from 1571 to 1630. He made significant contributions to the development of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 18th century, Johannes JOHANNES, a German composer and organist from Leipzig, gained recognition for his contributions to church music. He lived from 1685 to 1748 and composed numerous sacred works.
The surname JOHANNES has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and literature. Johannes JOHANNES, a German writer and poet from Berlin, gained acclaim for his lyrical works in the 19th century, living from 1817 to 1879.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Johannes
Among Census respondents with the surname Johannes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Johannes 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 Johannes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 2,665
- Black or African American5.2% · 163
- Two or more races3.9% · 122
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 114
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 78
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Johannes
Johannes 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
#9,412
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,455
+77 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 501 places
2020
#9,812
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,151
-304 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Down 400 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,911 | 3,378 | 1.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,412 | 3,455 | 1.17 | +77 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 501 places |
| 2020 | #9,812 | 3,151 | 1.05 | -304 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 400 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 Johannes 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 | #9,412 | #9,812 | -4.2% |
| Count | 3,455 | 3,151 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 1.05 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Johannes bearers went from 3,455 to 3,151 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 400 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,412 to #9,812.
FAQ
Johannes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Johannes?
Name Census estimates that about 3,613 living Americans carry the surname Johannes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,867 residents.
How common is Johannes?
Johannes ranks #9,812 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.05 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 3,151 people with the surname Johannes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,613), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.05 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 Johannes.
Has Johannes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Johannes went from 3,455 recorded bearers to 3,151. That is a decrease of 304 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,412 to #9,812.
What does the Census say about the background of Johannes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Johannes, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Johannes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (2,665 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Johannes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), Black (5.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Johannes (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 Johannes mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Johann" or "son of John" in German, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages. 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 Johannes (1.05 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 Americans have the surname Johannes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.