2000
#1,637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,019
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.42
Uncommon Last name
Kruse
A surname of German origin, referring to someone with curly hair or a person from Kruszwica, Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,713 Americans carry the last name Kruse. That puts it at #1,766 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kruse 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 Kruse with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 15,091
Census rank
#1,766
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,807 bearers of the surname Kruse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1766th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kruse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kruse
The surname Kruse has its origins in Germany and is believed to have derived from the Old German word 'krus' or 'kraus', meaning 'curly-haired'. It was initially an occupational name referring to someone with curly or kinky hair.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the early 12th century, where it appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval records from the region of Saxony. The spelling variations found in these records include 'Kruse', 'Crusius', and 'Cruwel'.
In the 13th century, the name Kruse can be found in the Urbarii Ducatus Geldriae, a record of landholdings in the Duchy of Guelders, located in present-day Netherlands and Germany. This suggests that the name had spread beyond its initial origins in Saxony.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Kruse was Hermann Kruse, a German philosopher and theologian born in 1501 in Grevenbroich, Rhineland. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and served as a professor at the University of Marburg.
During the 16th century, the name Kruse was also associated with the town of Kruse (now known as Kruszyn) in the Pomeranian region of modern-day Poland. It is possible that some individuals with this surname may have derived their name from this place name.
Another notable figure with the surname Kruse was Christian Kruse, a Danish botanist and physician born in 1753. He made significant contributions to the study of flora in Denmark and was a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.
In the 19th century, the German composer and organist Johann Kruse (1859-1927) gained recognition for his compositions and his work as a church organist in Göttingen.
The name Kruse has also been associated with several place names in Germany, such as Kruse-Berge (Kruse Mountains) in Lower Saxony and Kruse-Mühle (Kruse Mill) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Other notable individuals with the surname Kruse include Tobias Kruse (1718-1796), a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Leipzig, and Jürgen Kruse (1910-1973), a German actor and film director active in the mid-20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kruse
Among Census respondents with the surname Kruse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kruse 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 Kruse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 18,322
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 591
- Two or more races2.9% · 565
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 220
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 55
- Black or African American0.3% · 54
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kruse
Kruse 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
#1,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,584
+565 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 6.98
Rank movement Down 104 places
2020
#1,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,807
-777 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 6.63
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,637 | 20,019 | 7.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,741 | 20,584 | 6.98 | +565 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 104 places |
| 2020 | #1,766 | 19,807 | 6.63 | -777 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 25 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 Kruse 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 | #1,741 | #1,766 | -1.4% |
| Count | 20,584 | 19,807 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 6.98 | 6.63 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kruse bearers went from 20,584 to 19,807 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,741 to #1,766.
FAQ
Kruse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kruse?
Name Census estimates that about 22,713 living Americans carry the surname Kruse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,091 residents.
How common is Kruse?
Kruse ranks #1,766 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,807 people with the surname Kruse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,713), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Kruse.
Has Kruse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kruse went from 20,584 recorded bearers to 19,807. That is a decrease of 777 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,741 to #1,766.
What does the Census say about the background of Kruse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kruse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Kruse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (18,322 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kruse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Kruse (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 Kruse mean?
A surname of German origin, 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 Kruse (6.63 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 people have the surname Kruse?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.