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

Presser, 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 Presser surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Presser in America

Presser is the 23238th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Presser surname appeared 1,097 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 Presser.

We can also compare 2010 data for Presser 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 Presser

The surname Presser is of German origin, derived from the occupation of a cloth presser or launderer. It likely emerged in the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century, when trade guilds and specialized occupations became more prominent in Europe.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Augsburg, Germany, where a "Hans Presser" is mentioned as a cloth presser in 1492. The name is also documented in other German cities like Nuremberg and Frankfurt during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The surname Presser is closely related to other occupational surnames like Walker (from the cloth-walking trade) and Fuller (from the cloth-fulling process). It may have originated from the Middle High German word "pressen" or the Old High German "pressa," both meaning "to press" or "to squeeze."

In the United Kingdom, the name appears to have been introduced by German immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. One notable early bearer was Johann Christoph Presser (1739-1799), a German-born clockmaker who settled in London and became a renowned horologist.

Another significant figure was Carl Traugott Presser (1818-1883), a German-American music publisher and founder of the Presser Company, one of the oldest and largest music publishing houses in the United States. He was born in Saxony and emigrated to Philadelphia in 1849.

Other notable individuals with the surname Presser include:

1. Vladimir Presser (1876-1938), a Russian-born painter and art teacher who worked in the United States.
2. Jacques Presser (1899-1970), a Dutch historian and writer known for his work on the history of the Netherlands during World War II.
3. Theodor Presser (1848-1925), a German-American music publisher and editor, and the son of Carl Traugott Presser.
4. Arlene Presser (born 1936), an American actress and singer best known for her role in the television series "The Untouchables."
5. Jacob Presser (1784-1839), a German-born author and educator who immigrated to the United States and became a leading figure in the education system of Pennsylvania.

While the surname Presser is not among the most common surnames in the world, it has a rich history rooted in the occupational trades of medieval Germany and has been carried by notable individuals across various fields over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Presser

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

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 Presser 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 Presser 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 Presser was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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