2000
#15,117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,790
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.66
Rare Last name
Nass
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived near or worked with wet or damp ground.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,164 Americans carry the last name Nass. That puts it at #15,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 158,389 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nass 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
2.2K
1 in 158,389
Census rank
#15,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,887 bearers of the surname Nass in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nass, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nass
The surname NASS originated in Germany during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the German word "nass," which means "wet" or "damp." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who lived near a body of water or in a particularly rainy area.
One of the earliest documented references to the surname NASS can be found in the records of the city of Cologne, where a certain Johannes Nass was mentioned in a legal document dated 1387. In the 15th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as Nasse and Nassen, in different regions of Germany.
During the 16th century, the surname NASS started to spread beyond Germany's borders. In 1521, a merchant named Hans Nass was recorded in the city archives of Amsterdam, indicating that the name had made its way to the Netherlands.
One notable historical figure bearing the surname NASS was Johann Nass, a German Protestant theologian and reformer who lived from 1534 to 1590. He played a significant role in the Reformation movement and authored several influential works on theology and church doctrine.
Another noteworthy individual with the surname NASS was Johann Matthias Nass, a German composer and violinist who lived from 1685 to 1763. He was a renowned musician in his time and served as the court composer for the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt.
In the 18th century, the surname NASS appeared in various records across Europe. For example, a certain Johann Nass was listed as a landowner in the village of Mönchengladbach, located in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in 1732.
As people began to migrate to different parts of the world, the surname NASS spread further. In the 19th century, there were instances of individuals bearing the name NASS in areas such as the United States and Canada, likely descendants of German immigrants.
It is worth noting that the surname NASS may also have originated independently in other parts of Europe or even other parts of the world, as similar-sounding names can sometimes arise spontaneously in different regions due to shared linguistic roots or descriptive meanings.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nass
Among Census respondents with the surname Nass, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Nass 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 Nass surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 1,739
- Two or more races2.9% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 49
- Black or African American1.2% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nass
Nass 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
#14,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,060
+270 bearers (+15.1%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 628 places
2020
#15,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,887
-173 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 539 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,117 | 1,790 | 0.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,489 | 2,060 | 0.70 | +270 bearers (+15.1%) | Up 628 places |
| 2020 | #15,028 | 1,887 | 0.63 | -173 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 539 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 Nass 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 | #14,489 | #15,028 | -3.7% |
| Count | 2,060 | 1,887 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.63 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nass bearers went from 2,060 to 1,887 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 539 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,489 to #15,028.
FAQ
Nass surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nass?
Name Census estimates that about 2,164 living Americans carry the surname Nass. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 158,389 residents.
How common is Nass?
Nass ranks #15,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,887 people with the surname Nass. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,164), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Nass.
Has Nass become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nass went from 2,060 recorded bearers to 1,887. That is a decrease of 173 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,489 to #15,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Nass?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nass, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Nass in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (1,739 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nass appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Nass (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 Nass mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived near or worked with wet or damp ground. 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 Nass (0.63 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 common is the surname Nass?
See how many Americans have the surname Nass on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.