2000
#68,569
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 268
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Niehues
A German surname derived from a habitational name for someone from one of several places so named.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 423 Americans carry the last name Niehues. That puts it at #59,236 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 810,294 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Niehues 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
423
1 in 810,294
Census rank
#59,236
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
369
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 369 bearers of the surname Niehues in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 59236th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Niehues, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Niehues
The surname NIEHUES originated in the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony in what is now modern-day Germany. It is believed to have derived from the Middle Low German words "nie" meaning new and "hues" meaning house or dwelling. The name likely referred to someone who lived in a newly constructed home or was one of the first settlers in a particular area.
Early records of the NIEHUES name can be found in various medieval documents and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries. One of the earliest known references is to a Johann Niehues, who was mentioned in a land registry document from the town of Soest, near Dortmund, in the year 1322.
In the 15th century, a notable bearer of the NIEHUES name was Henrich Niehues, a merchant and landowner from the town of Osnabrück, who lived from approximately 1425 to 1492. His name appears in several trade records and property deeds from that time period.
During the 16th century, the NIEHUES name spread throughout various regions of Germany, as well as into neighboring areas such as the Netherlands and Denmark. One of the earliest documented instances of the name outside of Germany is found in a Dutch church record from 1587, which mentions a Willem Niehues from the city of Arnhem.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure with the NIEHUES surname was Johann Niehues, a scholar and theologian who lived from 1610 to 1672. He was a professor at the University of Helmstedt and authored several influential works on religious philosophy and theology.
Another notable bearer of the NIEHUES name was Christoph Niehues, a military officer who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He was born in 1595 in the town of Minden and served as a captain in the army of the Protestant forces.
As the NIEHUES surname continued to spread and evolve over the centuries, various spelling variations emerged, such as Niehus, Niehuis, and Niehaus. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciation differences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Niehues
Among Census respondents with the surname Niehues, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Niehues 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 Niehues surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 341
- Two or more races3.3% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Niehues
Niehues 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
#64,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 310
+42 bearers (+15.7%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 4,369 places
2020
#59,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 369
+59 bearers (+19.0%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 4,964 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #68,569 | 268 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #64,200 | 310 | 0.11 | +42 bearers (+15.7%) | Up 4,369 places |
| 2020 | #59,236 | 369 | 0.12 | +59 bearers (+19.0%) | Up 4,964 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 Niehues 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 | #64,200 | #59,236 | 7.7% |
| Count | 310 | 369 | 19.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.12 | 12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Niehues bearers went from 310 to 369 (+19.0% change). The surname moved up 4,964 positions in the national ranking, going from #64,200 to #59,236.
FAQ
Niehues surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Niehues?
Name Census estimates that about 423 living Americans carry the surname Niehues. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 810,294 residents.
How common is Niehues?
Niehues ranks #59,236 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 369 people with the surname Niehues. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (423), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Niehues.
Has Niehues become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Niehues went from 310 recorded bearers to 369. That is an increase of 59 (+19.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #64,200 to #59,236.
What does the Census say about the background of Niehues?
Among Census respondents with the surname Niehues, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Niehues in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (341 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Niehues appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Niehues (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 Niehues mean?
A German surname derived from a habitational name for someone from one of several places so named. 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 Niehues (0.12 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 Niehues?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Niehues at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.