2000
#8,942
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,362
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.25
Rare Last name
Niehaus
A German toponymic surname indicating someone who lived near or in a new house.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,907 Americans carry the last name Niehaus. That puts it at #9,194 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,728 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Niehaus 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
3.9K
1 in 87,728
Census rank
#9,194
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,407 bearers of the surname Niehaus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9194th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Niehaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Niehaus
The surname Niehaus originated in the German states, emerging in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th centuries. It is derived from the Middle Low German words "nie" meaning "new" and "hus" meaning "house", indicating that the name likely referred to someone who built or inhabited a newly constructed dwelling.
The earliest known record of the name Niehaus can be traced back to the town of Niehaus in Westphalia, located in what is now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is believed that the name originated as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who hailed from this particular town or region.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name Niehaus was Johannes Niehaus, a German theologian and reformer born around 1490. He was a follower of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the spread of the Protestant Reformation in northern Germany.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Johann Niehaus, a German-American artist born in 1887 in Westphalia. He immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century and became known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West.
In the 19th century, Carl Niehaus, a German composer and conductor, gained recognition for his work with various orchestras and opera houses throughout Europe. He was born in 1833 in Essen and made significant contributions to the musical landscape of his time.
The name Niehaus has also been associated with certain place names and older spellings. For instance, the town of Niehausen in Lower Saxony, Germany, shares a similar root with the surname, potentially indicating a connection between the two.
Throughout history, variations of the spelling have emerged, such as Niehausen, Niehusen, and Niehus, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic variations within Germany and other areas where the name was adopted.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Niehaus
Among Census respondents with the surname Niehaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Niehaus 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 Niehaus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 3,231
- Two or more races2.4% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 14
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Niehaus
Niehaus 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
#9,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,493
+131 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Down 378 places
2020
#9,194
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,407
-86 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Up 126 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,942 | 3,362 | 1.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,320 | 3,493 | 1.18 | +131 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 378 places |
| 2020 | #9,194 | 3,407 | 1.14 | -86 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 126 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 Niehaus 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 | #9,320 | #9,194 | 1.4% |
| Count | 3,493 | 3,407 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.18 | 1.14 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Niehaus bearers went from 3,493 to 3,407 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 126 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,320 to #9,194.
FAQ
Niehaus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Niehaus?
Name Census estimates that about 3,907 living Americans carry the surname Niehaus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,728 residents.
How common is Niehaus?
Niehaus ranks #9,194 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.14 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 3,407 people with the surname Niehaus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,907), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.14 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 Niehaus.
Has Niehaus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Niehaus went from 3,493 recorded bearers to 3,407. That is a decrease of 86 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,320 to #9,194.
What does the Census say about the background of Niehaus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Niehaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Niehaus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (3,231 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Niehaus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Niehaus (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 Niehaus mean?
A German toponymic surname indicating someone who lived near or in a new house. 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 Niehaus (1.14 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 are called Niehaus?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Niehaus at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.