2000
#13,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,049
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Schloss
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who resided in or worked at a castle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,378 Americans carry the last name Schloss. That puts it at #13,928 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,136 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schloss 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
2.4K
1 in 144,136
Census rank
#13,928
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,074 bearers of the surname Schloss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13928th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schloss, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schloss
The surname Schloss has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Schloss," which translates to "castle" or "palace." This name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who lived near or worked in a castle or manor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schloss dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony. In these records, a man named Johannes Schloss was mentioned as a resident of a town near a castle.
During the late medieval period, the name Schloss gained prominence in various regions of Germany, particularly in areas with a significant number of castles and fortified settlements. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include Heinrich Schloss, a 15th-century merchant from Nuremberg, and Magdalena Schloss, a 16th-century noblewoman from the Palatinate region.
The surname Schloss has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One such individual was Johann Schloss (1555-1623), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector Palatine in Heidelberg. Another prominent figure was Gottlieb Schloss (1670-1723), a German jurist and legal scholar who authored influential works on civil and criminal law.
In the 18th century, the Schloss name gained recognition in the literary world with the writer and philosopher Moses Schloss (1739-1810), a prominent figure in the German Enlightenment. His writings on philosophy and religion garnered widespread attention and influenced subsequent generations of thinkers.
Another notable bearer of the Schloss surname was Friedrich Schloss (1804-1882), a German politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Justice for the Kingdom of Prussia. He played a pivotal role in the legal reforms and constitutional developments of his time.
Throughout its history, the surname Schloss has been associated with various areas and regions of Germany, including Saxony, Nuremberg, the Palatinate, and Prussia. It has also spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by individuals and families who migrated from their ancestral homelands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schloss
Among Census respondents with the surname Schloss, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Schloss 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 Schloss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.9% · 1,782
- Black or African American6.7% · 139
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 79
- Two or more races2.9% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schloss
Schloss 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
#14,349
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,085
+36 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 756 places
2020
#13,928
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,074
-11 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 421 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,593 | 2,049 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,349 | 2,085 | 0.71 | +36 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 756 places |
| 2020 | #13,928 | 2,074 | 0.69 | -11 bearers (-0.5%) | Up 421 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 Schloss 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 | #14,349 | #13,928 | 2.9% |
| Count | 2,085 | 2,074 | -0.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.69 | -2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schloss bearers went from 2,085 to 2,074 (-0.5% change). The surname moved up 421 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,349 to #13,928.
FAQ
Schloss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schloss?
Name Census estimates that about 2,378 living Americans carry the surname Schloss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,136 residents.
How common is Schloss?
Schloss ranks #13,928 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,074 people with the surname Schloss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,378), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Schloss.
Has Schloss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schloss went from 2,085 recorded bearers to 2,074. That is a decrease of 11 (-0.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,349 to #13,928.
What does the Census say about the background of Schloss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schloss, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.9%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Schloss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (1,782 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schloss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.9%), Black (6.7%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Schloss (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 Schloss mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who resided in or worked at a castle. 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 Schloss (0.69 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 last name Schloss?
See how many people are called Schloss on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.