2000
#12,630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,249
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Strawser
An occupational surname referring to someone who thatches roofs with straw or sells straw.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,543 Americans carry the last name Strawser. That puts it at #13,196 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,783 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Strawser 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
2.5K
1 in 134,783
Census rank
#13,196
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,218 bearers of the surname Strawser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13196th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Strawser, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Strawser
The surname Strawser originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "strau," which means "straw" or "bundle of straw." This suggests that the name may have been associated with an occupation related to the production or handling of straw.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Strawser can be found in the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, located in the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In 1583, a record mentions a Johann Strawser, who was a farmer in the region.
As the name spread across Germany, variations in spelling emerged, such as Strauser, Strausser, and Straussner. Some of these variations can be traced to regional dialects and local pronunciations.
In the late 17th century, the name appears in records from the town of Alsfeld, located in what is now the state of Hesse, Germany. A man named Hans Strawser is listed as a resident of the town in 1692.
The earliest known record of the Strawser name in North America dates back to the mid-18th century, when several families immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania. One notable figure was Johann Strawser, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749 and later settled in the area of what is now Berks County.
Throughout the 19th century, the Strawser name continued to spread across the United States, with families establishing roots in various states, including Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. A prominent individual from this era was William Strawser (1818-1897), a farmer and politician who served as a member of the Ohio State Senate.
Another noteworthy Strawser was Charles Strawser (1857-1932), a German-American artist best known for his landscape paintings. He was born in Ohio and spent much of his career in New York City, where he was a member of the National Academy of Design.
In more recent history, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Strawser was Hans-Georg Strawser (1920-2000), a German journalist and author who covered World War II and later became a renowned novelist and essayist.
While the Strawser name may have originated as an occupational surname related to straw, it has since become a widely recognized surname with a rich history spanning multiple continents and centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Strawser
Among Census respondents with the surname Strawser, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Strawser 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 Strawser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 2,102
- Two or more races2.3% · 50
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 31
- Black or African American0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Strawser
Strawser 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
#13,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,352
+103 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 423 places
2020
#13,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,218
-134 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 143 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,630 | 2,249 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,053 | 2,352 | 0.80 | +103 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 423 places |
| 2020 | #13,196 | 2,218 | 0.74 | -134 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 143 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 Strawser 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 | #13,053 | #13,196 | -1.1% |
| Count | 2,352 | 2,218 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.74 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Strawser bearers went from 2,352 to 2,218 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 143 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,053 to #13,196.
FAQ
Strawser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Strawser?
Name Census estimates that about 2,543 living Americans carry the surname Strawser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,783 residents.
How common is Strawser?
Strawser ranks #13,196 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,218 people with the surname Strawser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,543), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Strawser.
Has Strawser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Strawser went from 2,352 recorded bearers to 2,218. That is a decrease of 134 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,053 to #13,196.
What does the Census say about the background of Strawser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Strawser, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Strawser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (2,102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Strawser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Two or More Races (2.3%), Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Strawser (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 Strawser mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who thatches roofs with straw or sells straw. 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 Strawser (0.74 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 are called Strawser?
See how many Americans have the surname Strawser on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.