2000
#4,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,269
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.69
Rare Last name
Kress
A German occupational surname referring to a maker of jugs or mugs, derived from the Middle High German "krus".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,809 Americans carry the last name Kress. That puts it at #4,997 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,892 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kress 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
7.8K
1 in 43,892
Census rank
#4,997
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,810 bearers of the surname Kress in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4997th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kress, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kress
The surname Kress is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word "kresse," meaning "cress" or "watercress." This name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who grew or sold watercress, or perhaps lived near a place where watercress grew abundantly.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kress can be found in various German and Swiss records dating back to the 14th century. One notable early bearer was Heinrich Kress, a merchant from Nuremberg, mentioned in documents from the mid-1300s.
In the 16th century, the name Kress appeared in the town of Lenzkirch in the Black Forest region of Germany. Records from this period mention a family by the name of Kress who were involved in the local textile industry.
The Kress surname also has a long history in Switzerland, particularly in the cantons of Bern and Solothurn. One of the earliest Swiss bearers was Hans Kress, a farmer from the village of Messen, whose name appears in records from the late 15th century.
As the name spread across Europe, variations in spelling emerged, including Kresse, Kresser, and Kresss. In some regions, the name took on localized forms, such as Cress in England and Cressa in Italy.
Notable individuals with the surname Kress throughout history include:
1. Gustav Kress (1843-1920), a German-American entrepreneur who founded the Kress chain of retail stores.
2. Samuel H. Kress (1863-1955), an American businessman and philanthropist who amassed a significant art collection, now housed in the National Gallery of Art.
3. Walter Kress (1892-1966), an Austrian-American architect known for his Art Deco designs in New York City.
4. Bertha Kress (1892-1975), an American painter and printmaker associated with the Ashcan School of American art.
5. Franz Kress (1932-2020), a Swiss writer and journalist known for his novels and travel literature.
While the surname Kress has its roots in Germany and Switzerland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by emigrants and families seeking new opportunities. Today, the name continues to hold a rich history and cultural significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kress
Among Census respondents with the surname Kress, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kress 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 Kress surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 6,322
- Two or more races3.5% · 236
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 159
- Black or African American0.6% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kress
Kress 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
#4,711
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,528
+259 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 2.55
Rank movement Down 222 places
2020
#4,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,810
-718 bearers (-9.5%)
Per 100,000 2.28
Rank movement Down 286 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,489 | 7,269 | 2.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,711 | 7,528 | 2.55 | +259 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 222 places |
| 2020 | #4,997 | 6,810 | 2.28 | -718 bearers (-9.5%) | Down 286 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 Kress 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 | #4,711 | #4,997 | -6.1% |
| Count | 7,528 | 6,810 | -9.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.55 | 2.28 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kress bearers went from 7,528 to 6,810 (-9.5% change). The surname moved down 286 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,711 to #4,997.
FAQ
Kress surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kress?
Name Census estimates that about 7,809 living Americans carry the surname Kress. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,892 residents.
How common is Kress?
Kress ranks #4,997 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,810 people with the surname Kress. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,809), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Kress.
Has Kress become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kress went from 7,528 recorded bearers to 6,810. That is a decrease of 718 (-9.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,711 to #4,997.
What does the Census say about the background of Kress?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kress, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Kress in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (6,322 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kress appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Kress (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 Kress mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker of jugs or mugs, derived from the Middle High German "krus". 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 Kress (2.28 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 Kress?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.