2000
#6,785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,581
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.70
Rare Last name
Criss
Derived from a nickname for someone with curly hair, from the Middle English word "cris" meaning "curly."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,228 Americans carry the last name Criss. That puts it at #7,081 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 65,561 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Criss 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Criss with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.2K
1 in 65,561
Census rank
#7,081
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,559 bearers of the surname Criss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7081st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Criss, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Criss
The surname Criss has its origins in England, tracing back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "cryss," which means "cross." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a crossroads or a person who worked as a guide or porter at a crossing point.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1212, where a person named William Crys is mentioned. This spelling variation highlights the evolving nature of the surname over time.
In the 13th century, the name is found in various records across different counties in England, including the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, which mentions a Robert Crys. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296 also reference a John Crys.
During the medieval period, the name was sometimes associated with place names like Cresswell in Northumberland or Cressy in Lincolnshire, indicating that some individuals may have adopted the surname based on their place of origin or residence.
One notable historical figure bearing the Criss surname was Richard Criss, a Member of Parliament for Taunton in Somerset during the 16th century, serving from 1554 to 1555.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records, such as the baptism of John Criss in Staplehurst, Kent, in 1618, and the marriage of Thomas Criss and Anne Pulman in Croydon, Surrey, in 1635.
Another prominent individual with the Criss surname was Sir Nicholas Crispe (1598-1666), an English merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the establishment of the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
Moving into the 18th century, the Criss surname continued to be documented, with individuals like William Criss (1720-1785), a English clergyman and writer who published several religious works.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with individuals like Frederic Criss (1846-1914), an English-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
Throughout history, the Criss surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Crys, Cryss, Crisse, and Crysse, reflecting the inconsistencies in record-keeping and regional dialects of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Criss
Among Census respondents with the surname Criss, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Criss 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 Criss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.3% · 3,159
- Black or African American20.8% · 947
- Two or more races5.0% · 228
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 160
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Criss
Criss 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
#7,066
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,738
+157 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 281 places
2020
#7,081
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,559
-179 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.53
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,785 | 4,581 | 1.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,066 | 4,738 | 1.61 | +157 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 281 places |
| 2020 | #7,081 | 4,559 | 1.53 | -179 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 15 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 Criss 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 | #7,066 | #7,081 | -0.2% |
| Count | 4,738 | 4,559 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.61 | 1.53 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Criss bearers went from 4,738 to 4,559 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,066 to #7,081.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Criss
FAQ
Criss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Criss?
Name Census estimates that about 5,228 living Americans carry the surname Criss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 65,561 residents.
How common is Criss?
Criss ranks #7,081 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,559 people with the surname Criss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,228), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Criss.
Has Criss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Criss went from 4,738 recorded bearers to 4,559. That is a decrease of 179 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,066 to #7,081.
What does the Census say about the background of Criss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Criss, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Criss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.3% (3,159 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Criss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.3%), Black (20.8%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Criss (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 Criss mean?
Derived from a nickname for someone with curly hair, from the Middle English word "cris" meaning "curly." 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 Criss (1.53 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 Criss?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.