2000
#20,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,174
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Presser
A surname derived from the occupational name for a cloth presser or a maker of printing presses.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,332 Americans carry the last name Presser. That puts it at #22,647 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 257,323 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Presser 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Presser with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.3K
1 in 257,323
Census rank
#22,647
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,162 bearers of the surname Presser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22647th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Presser, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Presser
Among Census respondents with the surname Presser, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Presser 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 Presser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 1,045
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 61
- Two or more races3.5% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 10
- Black or African American0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Presser
Presser 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
#23,238
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,097
-77 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Down 2,340 places
2020
#22,647
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,162
+65 bearers (+5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.39
Rank movement Up 591 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,898 | 1,174 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #23,238 | 1,097 | 0.37 | -77 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 2,340 places |
| 2020 | #22,647 | 1,162 | 0.39 | +65 bearers (+5.9%) | Up 591 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 Presser 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 | #23,238 | #22,647 | 2.5% |
| Count | 1,097 | 1,162 | 5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.37 | 0.39 | 5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Presser bearers went from 1,097 to 1,162 (+5.9% change). The surname moved up 591 positions in the national ranking, going from #23,238 to #22,647.
FAQ
Presser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Presser?
Name Census estimates that about 1,332 living Americans carry the surname Presser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 257,323 residents.
How common is Presser?
Presser ranks #22,647 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.39 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 1,162 people with the surname Presser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,332), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.39 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 Presser.
Has Presser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Presser went from 1,097 recorded bearers to 1,162. That is an increase of 65 (+5.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #23,238 to #22,647.
What does the Census say about the background of Presser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Presser, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Presser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (1,045 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Presser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (5.2%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Presser (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 Presser mean?
A surname derived from the occupational name for a cloth presser or a maker of printing presses. 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 Presser (0.39 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 Americans have the surname Presser?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.