2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Pleuss
A locational surname derived from the town of Pleuse in France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Pleuss. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pleuss 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Pleuss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pleuss, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pleuss
The surname PLEUSS is of German origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where it was likely a locational name derived from a place name such as Pleussen or Pleuss.
In its earliest recorded instances, the name was often spelled as Pleus, Pleuß, or Pleusse. These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions during the Middle Ages. The name may have been derived from the Old High German word "pluo," meaning "stream" or "brook," which suggests that the original bearers of the name may have resided near a body of water.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the PLEUSS name can be found in the parish records of the town of Pleystein, located in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria. These records date back to the late 16th century and include entries for individuals with the surname Pleus or Pleuß.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the PLEUSS name began to spread beyond Bavaria, with individuals bearing the surname being documented in various parts of Germany and neighboring regions. Notable individuals with this surname from this period include Johann Pleuss (1595-1668), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony, and Friedrich Pleuss (1732-1804), a German jurist and legal scholar from Hesse.
In the 19th century, several individuals with the PLEUSS surname gained recognition in various fields. Johann Pleuss (1810-1886) was a German composer and music teacher from Saxony, while Karl Pleuss (1852-1924) was a German painter and illustrator renowned for his landscape and genre paintings.
Another notable bearer of the PLEUSS name was Richard Pleuss (1872-1956), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other German cities during the early 20th century.
While the PLEUSS surname is primarily associated with Germany, it has also been documented in other parts of Europe and beyond, likely due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pleuss
Among Census respondents with the surname Pleuss, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pleuss 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 Pleuss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pleuss
Pleuss 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+2 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,796 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-8 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,435 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 6,796 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 9,435 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 Pleuss 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 | #135,593 | #145,028 | -7.0% |
| Count | 124 | 116 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pleuss bearers went from 124 to 116 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 9,435 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #145,028.
FAQ
Pleuss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pleuss?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Pleuss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Pleuss?
Pleuss ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Pleuss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Pleuss.
Has Pleuss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pleuss went from 124 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Pleuss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pleuss, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Pleuss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pleuss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Pleuss (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 Pleuss mean?
A locational surname derived from the town of Pleuse in France. 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 Pleuss (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 many people have the surname Pleuss?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.