2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Passas
A surname potentially derived from the Greek word "pasas" meaning raisins or dried grapes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Passas. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Passas 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Passas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Passas, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Passas
The surname Passas is believed to have originated in Greece, with roots dating back to the Byzantine era. It is thought to be derived from the Greek word "pasas," which means "pasha" or "governor," indicating a possible connection to an influential family or position of authority during that time.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Passas can be found in the archives of the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, where a monk named Ioannis Passas is listed as a scribe in the 14th century. This suggests that the name was already in use among Greek families during the medieval period.
In the 16th century, a document from the island of Naxos references a landowner named Georgios Passas, indicating that the name had spread to other parts of the Greek archipelago by that time. Additionally, there are records of a merchant named Alexandros Passas who traded in the Aegean Sea during the 17th century.
The name Passas also appears in historical texts from the Ottoman Empire, where it was sometimes rendered as "Pasha" or "Pasha-zade," reflecting the Turkish influence in the region. One notable figure was Mehmet Pasha, a military commander who served in the Ottoman army during the 16th century.
In more recent times, several individuals with the surname Passas have gained recognition in various fields. Dimitrios Passas (1859-1935) was a Greek politician and diplomat who served as the Mayor of Athens and later as the Greek Ambassador to the United States. Another notable Passas was Ioannis Passas (1920-2002), a renowned Greek poet and translator whose works explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition.
Other notable individuals with the surname Passas include:
1. Nikolaos Passas (1856-1923), a Greek lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Greek parliament.
2. Konstantinos Passas (1892-1967), a Greek Army officer who fought in the Balkan Wars and World War I.
3. Eleni Passas (1928-2022), a Greek painter and sculptor known for her abstract works.
4. Georgios Passas (1957-present), a Greek businessman and philanthropist who has supported various charitable organizations.
5. Theodoros Passas (1973-present), a Greek academic and expert in the field of criminology and security studies.
While the surname Passas has its roots in Greece, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities, carrying with it a rich history and cultural significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Passas
Among Census respondents with the surname Passas, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Passas 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 Passas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 100
- Two or more races6.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Passas
Passas 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,845 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-11 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,132 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #122,534 | 130 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 8,845 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 12,132 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 Passas 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 | #131,379 | #143,511 | -9.2% |
| Count | 129 | 118 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Passas bearers went from 129 to 118 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 12,132 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #143,511.
FAQ
Passas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Passas?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Passas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Passas?
Passas ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 118 people with the surname Passas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Passas.
Has Passas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Passas went from 129 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Passas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Passas, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Passas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Passas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Two or More Races (6.8%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Passas (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 Passas mean?
A surname potentially derived from the Greek word "pasas" meaning raisins or dried grapes. 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 Passas (0.04 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 Passas?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Passas is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.