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

Jost, 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 Jost surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jost in America

Jost is the 8076th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jost surname appeared 4,104 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Jost.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jost 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 Jost

The surname Jost originated in Germany and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the medieval German personal name Jodocus or Jost, which was a German form of the Latin name Judocus. This name ultimately stems from the Hebrew name Judah, meaning "praised."

The earliest recorded instances of the Jost surname can be found in German church records and municipal archives from the 13th and 14th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jost von Lassewitz, a German knight who lived in the late 13th century and was mentioned in historical documents from the region of Saxony.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Jost, Joest, and Jöst, in records from various German regions, including Bavaria, Swabia, and the Rhineland. For example, Jost von Münsterberg, a Silesian prince and Duke of Münsterberg, lived from 1432 to 1467.

The Jost surname has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most famous was Isaac Jost, a German Jewish historian and scholar who lived from 1793 to 1860 and wrote extensively on Jewish history and culture.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Johann Jost Raussendorf, a German artist and engraver who lived from 1668 to 1733 and was known for his intricate etchings and engravings of landscapes and cityscapes.

In the 19th century, the Jost surname was also carried by several notable individuals, including Johann Jost Schmid, a Swiss theologian and author who lived from 1813 to 1888, and Johann Jost Hinrich Müller, a German mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1839 to 1917.

While the Jost surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world due to migration and historical events. Today, the name can be found in various countries, although it remains most prevalent in German-speaking regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jost

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

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

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

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