2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Yens
A rare surname potentially derived from a place name in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Yens. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yens 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Yens in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yens, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (41.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yens
The surname Yens is believed to have origins in Northern Europe, primarily within the regions of Scandinavia and Germany. It likely dates back to the medieval period, around the 12th to 15th centuries. The name Yens is considered to be a patronymic surname, derived from the given name Jens or Johannes, which itself is a derivative of the name John. In Old Norse and Germanic languages, the name Jens was quite common and was often used to denote lineage.
The earliest recorded instances of Yens appear in various medieval manuscripts and parish records. One notable early reference is found in a 13th-century German register, indicating the presence of a family with the surname Yens in the region of Bavaria. Another mention surfaces in Danish records from the 14th century, particularly in the area around Copenhagen, suggesting that the name had significant geographical spread.
Historical documents show that the surname Yens was also recorded in later centuries. For instance, a 16th-century tax roll in Hamburg listed a merchant named Henrik Yens, indicating the family's involvement in trade and commerce. This period marked the beginning of more detailed record-keeping, allowing genealogists to track the lineage and movements of families bearing the Yens surname.
One of the earliest and most notable figures with the surname Yens was Johan Yens, documented in 1624 as a member of the Danish royal court. Johan Yens was an advisor to King Christian IV of Denmark and played a significant role in the administration of the kingdom. Another prominent individual was Andreas Yens, a shipbuilder from Lübeck, Germany, who lived from 1688 to 1745. His contributions to the development of naval technology were recognized throughout Northern Europe.
In the 18th century, the name Yens continued to appear in various records. For example, Margarethe Yens, born in 1715, was a renowned midwife in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Another significant individual was Karl Yens, an artist born in 1868 in Hamburg. Karl Yens emigrated to the United States and became a well-known landscape painter in California, contributing to the American art scene until his death in 1945.
The name Yens can be traced through historical records over several centuries, demonstrating its persistence and the mobility of its bearers across Northern Europe. Recognizable variations or older spellings of the name include Jenssen, Jansen, and Jansson, reflecting the common patronymic naming conventions of the time. The consistency of the surname in various regions and historical contexts underscores its deep-rooted cultural and linguistic significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yens
Among Census respondents with the surname Yens, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (41.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Yens 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 Yens surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.0% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino41.4% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.7% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yens
Yens appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+9 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,600 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.4%) | Up 7,600 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 Yens 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 | #152,628 | #145,028 | 5.0% |
| Count | 107 | 116 | 8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yens bearers went from 107 to 116 (+8.4% change). The surname moved up 7,600 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #145,028.
FAQ
Yens surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yens?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Yens. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Yens?
Yens ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Yens. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Yens.
Has Yens become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yens went from 107 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 9 (+8.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Yens?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yens, the largest self-reported group is White at 44.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (41.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%). 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 Yens in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.0% (51 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yens appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (44.0%), Hispanic (41.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%). 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 Yens (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 Yens mean?
A rare surname potentially derived from a place name in Germany. 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 Yens (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 common is the surname Yens?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Yens at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.