2000
#1,820
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.71
Uncommon Last name
Kraus
A German and Jewish surname referring to someone with curly hair or a person from Kruszwica, Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,565 Americans carry the last name Kraus. That puts it at #1,965 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,667 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kraus 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 Kraus with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,667
Census rank
#1,965
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,934 bearers of the surname Kraus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1965th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kraus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kraus
The surname Kraus is of German origin, dating back to the 12th century. The name is derived from the German word "kraus," meaning "curly" or "crisp," and was likely given as a descriptive nickname to someone with curly hair or a curly beard.
The earliest known record of the name Kraus can be found in the medieval German town of Würzburg, where a certain Henricus Kraus was mentioned in a document from 1192. Over the centuries, the name spread to various regions of Germany, as well as neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was the German theologian and Reformer, Johannes Kraus (1553-1616), who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation movement. Another historical figure with the surname Kraus was the Austrian composer and conductor, Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792), who was a contemporary of Mozart and considered one of the most important composers of the Classical era.
The name Kraus can also be found in various place names throughout Germany, such as Krauschwitz, a village in Saxony, and Krausnick, a town in Brandenburg. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Other notable individuals with the surname Kraus include the German-American philosopher and social theorist, Karl Kraus (1874-1936), known for his satirical critiques of Austrian society and culture. The Austrian novelist and playwright, Karl Philipp Kraus (1892-1966), was another prominent figure who wrote several acclaimed works during the 20th century.
In the realm of science, the German physicist and Nobel laureate, Max Kraus (1854-1942), made significant contributions to the understanding of electrical conductivity in solutions, while the Austrian-American chemist, Walter Kraus (1884-1958), is recognized for his work on anion exchange resins and the development of ion exchange technology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kraus
Among Census respondents with the surname Kraus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kraus 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 Kraus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 16,686
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 583
- Two or more races2.4% · 435
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 139
- Black or African American0.4% · 72
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kraus
Kraus 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
#1,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,028
+921 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 6.45
Rank movement Down 70 places
2020
#1,965
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,934
-1,094 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 6.00
Rank movement Down 75 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,820 | 18,107 | 6.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,890 | 19,028 | 6.45 | +921 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 70 places |
| 2020 | #1,965 | 17,934 | 6.00 | -1,094 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 75 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 Kraus 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 | #1,890 | #1,965 | -4.0% |
| Count | 19,028 | 17,934 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 6.45 | 6.00 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kraus bearers went from 19,028 to 17,934 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 75 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,890 to #1,965.
FAQ
Kraus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kraus?
Name Census estimates that about 20,565 living Americans carry the surname Kraus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,667 residents.
How common is Kraus?
Kraus ranks #1,965 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,934 people with the surname Kraus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,565), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Kraus.
Has Kraus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kraus went from 19,028 recorded bearers to 17,934. That is a decrease of 1,094 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,890 to #1,965.
What does the Census say about the background of Kraus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kraus, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Kraus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (16,686 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kraus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Kraus (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 Kraus mean?
A German and Jewish surname referring to someone with curly hair or a person from Kruszwica, Poland. 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 Kraus (6.00 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 Kraus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.