2000
#2,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,654
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.06
Uncommon Last name
Crouse
A nickname derived from the bird or an occupational name for someone who caught crows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,696 Americans carry the last name Crouse. That puts it at #2,739 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,323 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crouse 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
15K
1 in 23,323
Census rank
#2,739
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,816 bearers of the surname Crouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2739th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crouse
The surname Crouse has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the 14th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "krause," which means "curly" or "kinky," referring to someone with curly hair.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Crouse can be found in various German records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries. The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was often associated with specific place names, such as Krausendorf or Krausenhof.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Crouse was Johannes Crouse, a farmer who lived in the village of Krausendorf, near Nuremberg, in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Hans Crouse, a blacksmith who lived in Leipzig in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name Crouse began to spread beyond Germany, as many families emigrated to other parts of Europe and later to the Americas. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in North America was in 1733, when Johann Crouse and his family arrived in Pennsylvania from the Palatinate region of Germany.
Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Crouse have made significant contributions in various fields. Johann Crouse (1756-1824) was a German-American farmer and politician who served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Frederick Crouse (1815-1899) was an American industrialist who founded the Crouse-Hinds Company, a manufacturer of electrical products.
Other notable individuals with the surname Crouse include Mary Crouse (1865-1938), an American philanthropist and benefactor of Syracuse University, and William Crouse (1823-1899), an American businessman and banker who co-founded the Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, New York.
The surname Crouse has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Krause, Kraus, and Krausse, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic changes within Germany and other regions where the name was present.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Crouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Crouse 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 Crouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 11,733
- Two or more races3.4% · 440
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 310
- Black or African American1.1% · 136
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 95
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crouse
Crouse 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
#2,650
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,598
-56 bearers (-0.4%)
Per 100,000 4.61
Rank movement Down 220 places
2020
#2,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,816
-782 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 4.29
Rank movement Down 89 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,430 | 13,654 | 5.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,650 | 13,598 | 4.61 | -56 bearers (-0.4%) | Down 220 places |
| 2020 | #2,739 | 12,816 | 4.29 | -782 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 89 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 Crouse 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 | #2,650 | #2,739 | -3.4% |
| Count | 13,598 | 12,816 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 4.61 | 4.29 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crouse bearers went from 13,598 to 12,816 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 89 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,650 to #2,739.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Crouse
FAQ
Crouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crouse?
Name Census estimates that about 14,696 living Americans carry the surname Crouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,323 residents.
How common is Crouse?
Crouse ranks #2,739 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,816 people with the surname Crouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,696), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Crouse.
Has Crouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crouse went from 13,598 recorded bearers to 12,816. That is a decrease of 782 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,650 to #2,739.
What does the Census say about the background of Crouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Crouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (11,733 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Crouse (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 Crouse mean?
A nickname derived from the bird or an occupational name for someone who caught crows. 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 Crouse (4.29 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 Crouse?
Want to know how many people have the last name Crouse? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.