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

Koss, 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 Koss surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Koss in America

Koss is the 4147th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Koss surname appeared 8,544 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Koss.

We can also compare 2010 data for Koss 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 Koss

The surname KOSS originates from Germany and can be traced back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Kosse," which means a smallholder or cotter. The name was initially prominent in the regions of Prussia and Saxony.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KOSS can be found in the Prussian Ducal Registry of 1532, where a certain Hans Koss is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland). Another early reference is from the Saxon census of 1567, which lists a family by the name of Koss residing in the town of Leipzig.

In the 17th century, the name KOSS appeared in various church records and municipal documents across German states. For instance, Johann Koss (1612-1678), a renowned theologian and author, was born in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) and authored several treatises on Protestant theology.

The 18th century saw the emergence of notable individuals bearing the KOSS surname. One such person was Friedrich Koss (1725-1788), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Berlin, whose estate was recorded in the Prussian Land Registry of 1760.

As the 19th century dawned, the KOSS name continued to spread across Germany and beyond. Karl Koss (1819-1892), a pioneering industrialist from Saxony, established one of the first textile factories in the region and played a significant role in the region's economic development.

Another notable figure was Theodor Koss (1856-1921), a renowned German historian and professor at the University of Leipzig. His seminal work, "The History of Prussia," published in 1896, is still regarded as a valuable resource for understanding the region's past.

In the 20th century, the KOSS surname gained international recognition with the rise of Ralph Koss (1918-2006), an American entrepreneur and inventor. He founded the Koss Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is credited with inventing the world's first high-fidelity stereo headphones in 1958.

These are just a few examples of the rich history and notable individuals associated with the surname KOSS. While the name's origins can be traced back to Germany, it has since spread across the globe, carried by generations of individuals who have contributed to various fields and left their mark on history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Koss

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!