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

Kus, 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 Kus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kus in America

Kus is the 26143rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kus surname appeared 936 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kus 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 Kus

The surname "Kus" is believed to have originated in the region of present-day Poland and the Czech Republic during the medieval period. It is derived from the Slavic word "kus," which means "piece" or "fragment." The name may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone who was short or small in stature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Liber Fundationis Claustri Sanctae Mariae Virginis in Heinrichow, a 13th-century manuscript that details the founding of a Cistercian monastery in Heinrichau (now Henryków, Poland). The document mentions a certain "Nicolaus Kus" who was a landowner and benefactor of the monastery.

In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the University of Krakow, where a student named "Jacobus Kus" was enrolled in 1421. This suggests that the name had already spread and become established among the educated classes of the region.

During the 16th century, the Kus surname can be found in various historical documents from Silesia, a region that today spans parts of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. One notable figure from this period was Jan Kus (c. 1525-1594), a Lutheran minister and writer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Silesia.

In the 17th century, the name gained prominence in the Czech lands, where a noble family known as the Kus von Tuchořice held substantial landholdings and influence. The most famous member of this family was Johann Christoph Kus von Tuchořice (1638-1711), a Bohemian nobleman, military commander, and diplomat who served as the Imperial Governor of Silesia.

Another notable individual with the Kus surname was Stanisław Kus (1805-1887), a Polish painter and professor of art who was born in Krakow and is considered one of the pioneers of the Polish Romantic movement in art.

It is worth noting that the name has undergone various spelling variations over time, including Kuss, Kusch, and Kusche, particularly in regions where German was the predominant language. However, the core pronunciation and meaning of the name have remained relatively consistent throughout its history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kus

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

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

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

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