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

Yoes, 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 Yoes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Yoes in America

Yoes is the 50960th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yoes surname appeared 409 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Yoes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Yoes 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 Yoes

The surname Yoes appears to have its origins in Northern Europe, potentially within the Low Countries region that encompasses modern-day Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name likely emerged during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It's believed to be a variant of the surname Joos or Joes, which are diminutive forms of the given name Jodocus. Jodocus itself is derived from the Breton saint Josse, who was venerated in Western Europe.

In terms of etymology, the surname Yoes can be traced back to old Germanic or Celtic roots, where the name possibly meant "warrior" or "lord". Similar spellings in early records include Joos, Joes, and even Joyce in some texts, owing to the fluid nature of medieval orthography. Manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries occasionally highlight these variations.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name appears in the 14th-century records from Flanders, where a Hugo Yoes is mentioned in tax documents circa 1375. The following century, another bearer, Geert Yoes, appears in guild records in Antwerp around 1455, suggesting the family was involved in the burgeoning trade movements of the time.

The 16th century saw the name enduring in the same region, with a notable individual named Peter Yoes, who was recorded as a merchant in Bruges circa 1530. This period also witnessed some members of the Yoes family migrating towards the burgeoning urban centers of England, possibly due to religious and economic upheavals in the Low Countries.

In the early 17th century, the name appears in English parish records, with Thomas Yoes baptised in St. Giles Cripplegate, London in 1612. This suggests that the family was becoming more established in England. An influential figure, William Yoes, was recorded as a landowner in Kent in 1643, indicating that the name had not only taken root but had also ascended socially.

By the 18th century, the surname Yoes appeared less frequently in records, possibly due to changes in spellings or migration patterns. However, in 1776, Robert Yoes was documented as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, showcasing the transatlantic migration of the surname.

Given the historical trajectory of the surname Yoes, it becomes evident that the name has a rich and varied history, tracing its origins from the Low Countries through the movements of medieval Europe, eventually embedding itself into English and American societies. The lineage comprises individuals involved in trade, land ownership, and migration, reflecting the dynamic social and economic changes over centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Yoes

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!