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

Wyss, 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 Wyss surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wyss in America

Wyss is the 14257th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wyss surname appeared 2,102 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 Wyss.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wyss 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 Wyss

The surname WYSS originated in Switzerland and is believed to have first appeared in the German-speaking regions of the country in the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old High German word "wiz," meaning "white" or "bright," and was initially used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone with light hair or a fair complexion.

In the 13th century, the name WYSS can be found in historical records from the cantons of Zurich and Bern. One of the earliest recorded instances is in a document from 1263, which mentions a "Johannes dictus Wiz" (Johannes called Wiz) in the city of Zurich.

The name WYSS also appears in the Habsburger Urbar, a medieval land registry compiled in the late 13th century for the Habsburg dynasty. This document lists several individuals with the surname WYSS living in the region around Zurich and Baden.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the WYSS name became widespread throughout German-speaking Switzerland, particularly in the cantons of Zurich, Bern, Aargau, and Lucerne. Variations in spelling, such as Wiss, Wyss, and Wys, were common during this period.

One notable figure from this time was Rudolf Wyss (c. 1360-1428), a prominent Swiss military leader and politician from Zurich. He served as the mayor of Zurich and led the city's forces in several battles against the Habsburgs.

In the 16th century, the WYSS surname can be found in the records of the Protestant Reformation. Hans Wyss (c. 1500-1570) was a Swiss theologian and reformer from Zurich who worked closely with Huldrych Zwingli and helped establish the Reformed church in Switzerland.

Another significant figure was Johann Rudolf Wyss (1782-1830), the Swiss author best known for his adventurous novel "The Swiss Family Robinson." This book, published in 1812, told the story of a Swiss family shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island and became a beloved classic of children's literature.

In the 19th century, the WYSS name spread beyond Switzerland as Swiss immigrants settled in other parts of Europe and North America. One example is the celebrated Swiss-American sculptor Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862-1947), whose mother's maiden name was Wyss.

Throughout its history, the surname WYSS has been associated with various places in Switzerland, including the towns of Wyss, Wyssachen, and Wyssenburg, which likely derive their names from the same Old High German root.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wyss

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

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

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

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