2010
#156,044
National surname rank
First available Census row
A variant spelling of "Ure," an English habitational surname for someone from a place called Ur or Ure.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 111 Americans carry the last name Yurs. That puts it at #156,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,087,877 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Yurs 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
111
1 in 3,087,877
Census rank
#156,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
97
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 97 bearers of the surname Yurs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yurs, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
The surname Yurs is believed to have its origins in Eastern Europe, most likely from the regions that are today parts of Poland and Ukraine. The earliest documentation of the name suggests it appeared around the 14th century. Yurs is derived from the Old Slavic word "Jur," which means "farmer" or "earth-worker." These regions were largely agricultural during this period, and surnames often reflected occupations.
In historical records, the name Yurs can be found in various administrative and landownership documents from medieval Poland. The name appears in old manuscripts from the 15th century in the town of Kraków, indicating that the family was likely involved in local governance or land management. One of the earliest recorded instances comes from the 1423 Kraków land registry, which lists a Michal Yurs as holding a parcel of land in the outskirts of the town.
During the 16th century, as parts of Poland and Ukraine experienced political shifts and territorial changes, the name Yurs appeared in different variations such as Jurs and Iurs. An important historical reference is found in the memoirs of Jan Yurs, born in 1567, who documented his travels across Europe in the late 16th century and was a notable figure in encouraging agricultural modernization.
By the 17th century, the name had spread to various regions, including parts of what are now Belarus and Lithuania. One prominent individual was Stanislaw Yurs, a professor of philosophy at the University of Vilnius, born in 1614 and deceased in 1682. His intellectual contributions are still referenced today in historical academic studies.
In the 18th century, Yurs families were involved in the uprisings and conflicts in Eastern Europe. Jakub Yurs, born in 1722, played a significant role in the Bar Confederation, a Polish independence movement. His leadership and valiant efforts were noted in various military chronicles.
Another significant figure is Maria Yurs, born in 1789, who was one of the early female landowners in what is now Western Ukraine. She managed large estates and was a patron of local art and education, leaving a significant mark on the cultural landscape.
Finally, the name appeared in the 19th-century emigration records as many Yurs families moved to America in search of better opportunities. A notable example is Josef Yurs, born in 1824, who became a prominent businessman in the Chicago area, contributing to the development of the city's Polish community.
Thus, the surname Yurs holds a rich history intertwined with agriculture, intellectual contributions, political movements, and cultural patronage. Its bearers have made significant impacts in various regions over several centuries.
Demographics
Among Census respondents with the surname Yurs, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Yurs 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 Yurs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
Timeline
Yurs 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.
2010
National surname rank
First available Census row
2020
National surname rank
-7 bearers (-6.7%)
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,449 | 97 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 405 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
How has the Yurs surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #156,044 | #156,449 | -0.3% |
| Count | 104 | 97 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Yurs bearers went from 104 to 97 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 405 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #156,449.
FAQ
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the surname Yurs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,087,877 residents.
Yurs ranks #156,449 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
The raw 2020 Census file counted 97 people with the surname Yurs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Yurs.
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Yurs went from 104 recorded bearers to 97. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #156,044 to #156,449.
Among Census respondents with the surname Yurs, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Yurs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (94 people in the source table).
Yurs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.9%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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.
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 Yurs (2010, 2020).
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.
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.
A variant spelling of "Ure," an English habitational surname for someone from a place called Ur or Ure. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
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.
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 Yurs (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Yurs is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.