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

Reuss, 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 Reuss surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reuss in America

Reuss is the 20309th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reuss surname appeared 1,309 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 Reuss.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reuss 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 Reuss

The surname Reuss originated in Germany, with its earliest known roots dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "riuzzen," which means "to tear" or "to rend." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who worked in a profession related to tearing or rending materials, such as a tailor or a cloth maker.

The name Reuss is also closely associated with the Principality of Reuss, a former sovereign state located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. This region was ruled by the House of Reuss, a noble family that traced its lineage back to the 12th century. The family's name was likely adopted from the Reuss River, which flowed through their territories.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Reuss surname can be found in the Berne Shaking Book, a medieval census record from the city of Berne, Switzerland, dated around 1300. This document lists several individuals with the surname Reuss, indicating that the name had already spread beyond its German origins by that time.

Notable historical figures with the surname Reuss include Heinrich XXIV, Prince Reuss of Greiz (1789-1867), a German nobleman and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach from 1848 to 1852. Another prominent individual was Ernst I, Prince Reuss of Greiz (1800-1873), a German botanist and horticulturist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life.

In the realm of literature, Johanna Reuss (1841-1919) was a German-American writer and women's rights activist who published several novels and works of non-fiction, including "The Valkyries" and "The World's Congress of Representative Women." Her contemporaries included the American philosopher and educator Marietta Reuss (1850-1935), who was a prominent figure in the early feminist movement.

Moving further back in history, the name Reuss is also associated with the Counts of Reuss, a noble family that ruled over the County of Reuss in present-day Thuringia from the 12th century until its dissolution in the early 19th century. One notable member of this family was Heinrich II, Count of Reuss (1543-1608), who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was a close ally of Martin Luther.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reuss

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

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

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

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