2000
#3,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,341
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.09
Rare Last name
Clouse
A toponymic surname derived from a place name, likely referring to an enclosed or fenced area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,697 Americans carry the last name Clouse. That puts it at #4,072 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,346 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clouse 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
9.7K
1 in 35,346
Census rank
#4,072
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,456 bearers of the surname Clouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4072nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clouse
The surname Clouse is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the old German word "klus" which means "a secluded valley or ravine". The name likely originated from a place name referring to someone who lived in or near such a valley.
One of the earliest known records of the name Clouse can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval manuscripts from the 14th century, where it is spelled "Klouse". This suggests that the name was already in use by that time in German-speaking regions.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "Clowse" and "Clauß", in various church records and land registries across Germany. One notable individual from this period was Hans Clowse, a farmer from the Rhineland region, who is mentioned in a land deed from 1567.
The Clouse surname gained some prominence in the 18th century with the birth of Johann Friedrich Clouse (1715-1789), a renowned German poet and philosopher. His works, which explored themes of nature and spirituality, were widely read and influential during the Age of Enlightenment.
In the 19th century, the Clouse family became more widespread as some members immigrated to other parts of Europe and the United States. One such individual was Wilhelm Clouse (1825-1901), a German-born entrepreneur who founded a successful furniture business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Another notable figure from this period was Anna Clouse (1838-1916), a pioneering educator and women's rights activist from Bavaria. She was one of the first women in Germany to receive a university degree and dedicated her life to advocating for equal educational opportunities for women.
As the name spread across different regions, various spellings emerged, such as "Claus", "Clauss", and "Klause". However, the "Clouse" spelling remained the most common form in most parts of Germany and among German-American communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Clouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Clouse 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 Clouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 7,777
- Two or more races3.3% · 282
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 259
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 50
- Black or African American0.3% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clouse
Clouse 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
#4,032
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,809
+468 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 2.99
Rank movement Down 117 places
2020
#4,072
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,456
-353 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 2.83
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,915 | 8,341 | 3.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,032 | 8,809 | 2.99 | +468 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 117 places |
| 2020 | #4,072 | 8,456 | 2.83 | -353 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 40 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 Clouse 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 | #4,032 | #4,072 | -1.0% |
| Count | 8,809 | 8,456 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.99 | 2.83 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clouse bearers went from 8,809 to 8,456 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,032 to #4,072.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Clouse
FAQ
Clouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clouse?
Name Census estimates that about 9,697 living Americans carry the surname Clouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,346 residents.
How common is Clouse?
Clouse ranks #4,072 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,456 people with the surname Clouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,697), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Clouse.
Has Clouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clouse went from 8,809 recorded bearers to 8,456. That is a decrease of 353 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,032 to #4,072.
What does the Census say about the background of Clouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Clouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (7,777 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (3.3%), 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.
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 Clouse (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 Clouse mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a place name, likely referring to an enclosed or fenced area. 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 Clouse (2.83 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 people are called Clouse?
See how common the surname Clouse is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.