2000
#13,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.79
Rare Last name
Truss
An occupational surname referring to a maker of trusses or framework for supporting structures.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,495 Americans carry the last name Truss. That puts it at #13,383 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,376 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Truss 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Truss with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 137,376
Census rank
#13,383
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,176 bearers of the surname Truss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13383rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Truss, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Truss
The surname Truss is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "truss" meaning a bundle or pack. It likely referred to an occupation or trade involving the bundling or packing of goods.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the late 12th century in counties such as Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. The Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195 mention a Robert Truss, while the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire in 1227 record a William Truss.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there are references to Robert le Trus in Oxfordshire and Walter le Trus in Huntingdonshire, indicating early variations in the spelling of the name. The surname is also found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex from 1296 with an entry for William Truss.
Notable individuals with the surname Truss include Sir John Truss (1585-1672), an English merchant and politician who served as Sheriff of London in 1638. Another early bearer was Sir Cloberry Truss (1638-1700), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Dorset in the late 17th century.
In the 18th century, John Truss (1737-1818) was an English architect and surveyor known for his work on parish churches in Hertfordshire and Essex. His son, also named John Truss (1761-1833), followed in his footsteps as an architect and designed several buildings in London, including the Church of St Luke in Chelsea.
A more recent figure with this surname was Sir John Truss Lecoq (1856-1936), a British civil engineer and architect who worked on various projects in South Africa during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the surname Truss is not among the most common in English-speaking countries, it has a long history rooted in the occupational traditions of medieval England. The name's origins and variations reflect the diverse regional dialects and spellings of the time, providing a glimpse into the lives and trades of its early bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Truss
Among Census respondents with the surname Truss, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Truss 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 Truss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American62.7% · 1,365
- White28.1% · 611
- Two or more races5.5% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Truss
Truss 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
#13,278
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,297
+173 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 91 places
2020
#13,383
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,176
-121 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 105 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,187 | 2,124 | 0.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,278 | 2,297 | 0.78 | +173 bearers (+8.1%) | Down 91 places |
| 2020 | #13,383 | 2,176 | 0.73 | -121 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 105 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 Truss 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 | #13,278 | #13,383 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,297 | 2,176 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.73 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Truss bearers went from 2,297 to 2,176 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 105 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,278 to #13,383.
FAQ
Truss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Truss?
Name Census estimates that about 2,495 living Americans carry the surname Truss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,376 residents.
How common is Truss?
Truss ranks #13,383 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,176 people with the surname Truss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,495), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Truss.
Has Truss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Truss went from 2,297 recorded bearers to 2,176. That is a decrease of 121 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,278 to #13,383.
What does the Census say about the background of Truss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Truss, the largest self-reported group is Black at 62.7%. The next largest groups are White (28.1%) and Two or More Races (5.5%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Truss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.7% (1,365 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Truss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (62.7%), White (28.1%), Two or More Races (5.5%). 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 Truss (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 Truss mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker of trusses or framework for supporting structures. 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 Truss (0.73 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 Truss?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Truss at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.