2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Traulsen
A surname of German origin indicating someone from a specific location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Traulsen. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Traulsen 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Traulsen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Traulsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Traulsen
The surname Traulsen originates from northern Germany, particularly the regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is derived from the Old German words "trou" meaning faithful or true, and "lausen" which translates to listen or obey. The name likely emerged in the 13th or 14th century during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Traulsen name can be found in a church registry from the town of Lübeck in 1487, where a certain Hans Traulsen is listed as a member of the local guild of merchants. Another early reference appears in a land deed from 1523 in the village of Oldenburg, which bears the signature of a farmer named Claus Traulsen.
In the 16th century, the Traulsen name is associated with the Protestant Reformation movement in northern Germany. A notable figure was Martin Traulsen (1492-1568), a Lutheran minister and theologian who served as a pastor in the city of Rostock and was a close friend and ally of the reformer Martin Luther.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Traulsen name spread throughout the German states and principalities, with various branches emerging in cities like Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck. One prominent Traulsen was Johann Traulsen (1677-1744), a merchant and ship owner based in Hamburg who played a significant role in the city's maritime trade with the Netherlands and England.
The 19th century saw several Traulsens make their mark in various fields. Carl Traulsen (1809-1887) was a renowned architect from Mecklenburg who designed many notable buildings in Berlin and other German cities. His contemporary, Gustav Traulsen (1819-1892), was a respected linguist and philologist who published extensively on the Germanic languages.
In more recent times, notable individuals with the Traulsen surname include Hans Traulsen (1915-1998), a German naval officer and U-boat commander during World War II, and Inge Traulsen (1934-2004), a prominent East German actress and theater director who performed with the renowned Berliner Ensemble.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Traulsen
Among Census respondents with the surname Traulsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Traulsen 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 Traulsen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 7
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Traulsen
Traulsen 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
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+5 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,441 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+9 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,941 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 4,441 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.3%) | Up 6,941 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 Traulsen 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 | #150,452 | #143,511 | 4.6% |
| Count | 109 | 118 | 8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Traulsen bearers went from 109 to 118 (+8.3% change). The surname moved up 6,941 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #143,511.
FAQ
Traulsen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Traulsen?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Traulsen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Traulsen?
Traulsen ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Traulsen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Traulsen.
Has Traulsen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Traulsen went from 109 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 9 (+8.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Traulsen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Traulsen, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Traulsen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Traulsen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Hispanic (5.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Traulsen (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 Traulsen mean?
A surname of German origin indicating someone from a specific location. 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 Traulsen (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Traulsen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.