Find out how popular the last name Posse is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Posse.

Posse, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Posse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Posse in America

Posse is the 93125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Posse surname appeared 197 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Posse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Posse to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Posse

The surname Posse is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "posse," meaning a small group or gathering, possibly referring to a family or clan. The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to 1283 in the town of Erfurt.

During the Middle Ages, the Posse surname was concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. It is also found in various historical records from that era, including tax rolls and land registry documents. One notable early bearer of the name was Johann Posse, a wealthy merchant from Nuremberg who lived in the late 15th century.

As the surname spread across German-speaking lands, it evolved into various spellings, such as Posser, Possen, and Pösschen. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.

In the 16th century, the Posse name gained prominence when Philipp Posse (1505-1573) became a prominent Lutheran theologian and reformer. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a crucial role in the spread of the Protestant Reformation.

Another notable figure was Friedrich Carl von Posse (1750-1823), a Prussian general and military writer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. His accounts of the campaigns against Napoleon are considered valuable historical sources.

The name also has ties to nobility, as evidenced by the von Posse family, a German noble lineage that can be traced back to the 14th century. One of its most illustrious members was Kuno von Posse (1847-1933), a renowned art historian and museum curator who played a significant role in the development of German art collections.

In the 19th century, the Posse surname gained international recognition with the explorer and naturalist Carl Eduard Adolph Pössinger (1829-1904), who was known by his German name Carl Eduard Posse. He made important contributions to the study of flora and fauna in South America.

Another notable bearer of the name was the German-American novelist and playwright Paul Gustave Posse (1832-1904), who immigrated to the United States and became a respected literary figure, publishing works in both German and English.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Posse

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Posse.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Posse was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Posse has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Posse was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Posse, please contact us.

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