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

Straus, 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 Straus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Straus in America

Straus is the 12276th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Straus surname appeared 2,533 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Straus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Straus 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 Straus

The surname Straus has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Strausse," which means "ostrich." The name likely referred to a person who worked with or traded in ostrich feathers or ostrich products.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Straus appears in a document from the city of Cologne in 1275, where a certain "Johannes Straus" is mentioned. The name was also found in various medieval records from other German cities, such as Nuremberg and Frankfurt.

In the 16th century, the Straus family rose to prominence in the city of Strasbourg, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. One notable member of this family was Johann Straus (1522-1581), a successful merchant and city councilor.

The name Straus also has a historical connection to the Alsace region of France, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire during the medieval period. In the 17th century, several Straus families migrated from Alsace to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Straus was Johann Straus (1804-1849), an Austrian composer and violinist who is considered the father of the Viennese waltz. His son, Johann Strauss II (1825-1899), was an even more renowned composer and is best known for works such as "The Blue Danube" and "Tales from the Vienna Woods."

Another notable figure was Isidor Straus (1845-1912), an American businessman and co-owner of the Macy's department store chain. He and his wife Ida perished on the RMS Titanic when it sank in 1912.

The Straus family also played a significant role in the history of Germany and Europe. One example is David Straus (1808-1870), a German-Jewish politician and advocate for Jewish emancipation in Prussia.

Over the centuries, the surname Straus has been spelled in various ways, including Strauss, Strausse, and Strauß, reflecting regional differences in language and orthography.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Straus

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

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

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

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