2000
#13,925
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,987
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Yohn
Derived from the Old French "Yon," a diminutive of "Yves," meaning "yew wood" or "archer."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,134 Americans carry the last name Yohn. That puts it at #15,196 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,616 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yohn 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
2.1K
1 in 160,616
Census rank
#15,196
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,861 bearers of the surname Yohn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15196th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Yohn
The surname Yohn is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the German name "Johann," which is derived from the Hebrew name "Yochanan," meaning "Yahweh is gracious."
The name Yohn can be traced back to various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. It is possible that the earliest recorded instances of the name were found in municipal records, church registries, or tax rolls from these areas during the 13th or 14th centuries.
While it is uncertain whether the Yohn surname appeared in notable historical documents like the Domesday Book, it is likely that variations of the name, such as "Johann" or "Jahn," were recorded in various German chronicles and manuscripts from the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Yohn was Johannes Yohn, a German scholar and theologian born in 1492 in Nuremberg. He was known for his contributions to the study of biblical Hebrew and his writings on Protestant theology during the Reformation era.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Yohn, a German composer and organist born in 1610 in Leipzig. He is remembered for his compositions for the organ and his work as a church musician in various cities across Germany during the 17th century.
In the 19th century, Carl Yohn, a German-American industrialist born in 1832 in Hesse, made significant contributions to the development of the steel industry in the United States. He founded the Yohn Manufacturing Company in Ohio, which produced steel products for various industries.
In the field of literature, Gerhard Yohn, born in 1865 in Berlin, was a renowned German poet and writer known for his lyrical works and his exploration of themes related to nature and the human condition.
Another notable figure was Anna Yohn, a German-American artist born in 1879 in Bavaria. She was recognized for her landscape paintings and her contributions to the development of the American Impressionist movement in the early 20th century.
While the surname Yohn has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and other countries with German immigrant communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yohn
Among Census respondents with the surname Yohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Yohn 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 Yohn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 1,726
- Two or more races3.2% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 38
- Black or African American0.9% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Yohn
Yohn 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
#15,063
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,959
-28 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 1,138 places
2020
#15,196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,861
-98 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 133 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,925 | 1,987 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,063 | 1,959 | 0.66 | -28 bearers (-1.4%) | Down 1,138 places |
| 2020 | #15,196 | 1,861 | 0.62 | -98 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 133 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 Yohn 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 | #15,063 | #15,196 | -0.9% |
| Count | 1,959 | 1,861 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.62 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yohn bearers went from 1,959 to 1,861 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 133 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,063 to #15,196.
FAQ
Yohn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Yohn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,134 living Americans carry the surname Yohn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,616 residents.
How common is Yohn?
Yohn ranks #15,196 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,861 people with the surname Yohn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Yohn.
Has Yohn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yohn went from 1,959 recorded bearers to 1,861. That is a decrease of 98 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,063 to #15,196.
What does the Census say about the background of Yohn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Yohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Yohn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (1,726 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Yohn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Yohn (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 Yohn mean?
Derived from the Old French "Yon," a diminutive of "Yves," meaning "yew wood" or "archer." 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 Yohn (0.62 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 Yohn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.