2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Joustra
Of Dutch origin, meaning a knight's tournament or jousting contest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Joustra. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Joustra 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Joustra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Joustra, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Joustra
The surname JOUSTRA originated in the Netherlands during the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "jouw," meaning "your," and "stra," which is a variation of the word "straat," meaning "street." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on a particular street or neighborhood.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the JOUSTRA surname can be found in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, where a merchant named Pieter JOUSTRA is mentioned in historical records from the late 1500s. This suggests that the name may have been associated with trade or commerce in its early years.
In the 17th century, the JOUSTRA name appears in various documents and records from the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen. This could indicate that the name had spread to these regions, possibly due to migration or trade routes.
During the Dutch Golden Age, a notable figure with the JOUSTRA surname was Dirk JOUSTRA (1602-1679), a renowned painter from the city of Leeuwarden. His works, primarily portraiture and genre scenes, are now part of several museum collections in the Netherlands and abroad.
Another notable JOUSTRA was Hendrik JOUSTRA (1783-1864), a Dutch politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Finance in the Netherlands from 1841 to 1848. He played a crucial role in shaping the country's economic policies during a period of significant growth and industrialization.
In the late 19th century, the JOUSTRA name can be found in historical records from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), where some members of the family may have settled or worked as part of the colonial administration or trade networks.
Mentions of the JOUSTRA surname can also be found in historical records from other parts of Europe, such as Germany and Belgium, suggesting that the name may have spread beyond the Netherlands over time due to migration or intermarriage.
Throughout its history, the JOUSTRA surname has been associated with various professions and occupations, including merchants, artists, politicians, and colonial administrators. While not as common as some other Dutch surnames, it has maintained a presence in the Netherlands and other parts of Europe for several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joustra
Among Census respondents with the surname Joustra, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Joustra 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 Joustra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 111
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Joustra
Joustra 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,775 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 887 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 12,775 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 887 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 Joustra 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 | #144,141 | #145,028 | -0.6% |
| Count | 115 | 116 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Joustra bearers went from 115 to 116 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 887 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #145,028.
FAQ
Joustra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Joustra?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Joustra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Joustra?
Joustra ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 116 people with the surname Joustra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Joustra.
Has Joustra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Joustra went from 115 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Joustra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Joustra, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Joustra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Joustra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Black (1.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Joustra (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 Joustra mean?
Of Dutch origin, meaning a knight's tournament or jousting contest. 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 Joustra (0.04 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 Joustra?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.