2000
#12,197
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,342
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Preuss
A Prussian occupational surname referring to a person who operated a press or printing press.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,812 Americans carry the last name Preuss. That puts it at #12,133 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,890 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Preuss 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
2.8K
1 in 121,890
Census rank
#12,133
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,452 bearers of the surname Preuss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12133rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Preuss, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Preuss
The surname Preuss is of German origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old German word "pruzze," which means "Prussian" or someone from the region of Prussia. The name is believed to have originated in the areas that are now parts of modern-day Germany, Poland, Russia, and Lithuania.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Preuss can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dated around 1270. This document mentions a person named "Preussen" who was likely a resident of the region.
During the Middle Ages, the name Preuss was also associated with the Teutonic Knights, a Catholic military order that played a significant role in the Prussian Crusade and the subsequent conquest of Prussia. Some early references to the name can be found in chronicles and records related to the activities of the Teutonic Knights in the region.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname Preuss was Johannes Preuss, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from around 1415 to 1480. He was known for his writings on metaphysics and logic.
Another prominent individual with the surname Preuss was Johann David Erdmann Preuss, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1785 to 1868. He was a prominent figure in the field of idealist philosophy and was influenced by the works of Immanuel Kant.
In the 19th century, Eduard Preuss, a German botanist and explorer, made significant contributions to the study of plant life in South America. He was born in 1834 and died in 1904.
During the same period, Hugo Preuss, a German jurist and politician, played a key role in the drafting of the Weimar Constitution, which established the German republic after World War I. He lived from 1860 to 1925.
The surname Preuss has also been associated with various place names, such as Preussisch Eylau, a town in modern-day Poland that was the site of a significant battle during the Napoleonic Wars in 1807. Additionally, there are variations of the spelling, such as Preussisch, Preussner, and Preusse, which have been documented in historical records.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Preuss
Among Census respondents with the surname Preuss, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Preuss 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 Preuss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 2,265
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 84
- Two or more races2.7% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 21
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Preuss
Preuss 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
#12,454
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,492
+150 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 257 places
2020
#12,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,452
-40 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 321 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,197 | 2,342 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,454 | 2,492 | 0.84 | +150 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 257 places |
| 2020 | #12,133 | 2,452 | 0.82 | -40 bearers (-1.6%) | Up 321 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 Preuss 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 | #12,454 | #12,133 | 2.6% |
| Count | 2,492 | 2,452 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.82 | -2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Preuss bearers went from 2,492 to 2,452 (-1.6% change). The surname moved up 321 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,454 to #12,133.
FAQ
Preuss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Preuss?
Name Census estimates that about 2,812 living Americans carry the surname Preuss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,890 residents.
How common is Preuss?
Preuss ranks #12,133 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,452 people with the surname Preuss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,812), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Preuss.
Has Preuss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Preuss went from 2,492 recorded bearers to 2,452. That is a decrease of 40 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,454 to #12,133.
What does the Census say about the background of Preuss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Preuss, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Preuss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (2,265 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Preuss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Preuss (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 Preuss mean?
A Prussian occupational surname referring to a person who operated a press or printing press. 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 Preuss (0.82 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 Preuss?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.