2000
#114,852
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Jannings
A variant of the surname Jennings, possibly derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 162 Americans carry the last name Jannings. That puts it at #127,013 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,115,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jannings 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 Jannings with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
162
1 in 2,115,768
Census rank
#127,013
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
141
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 141 bearers of the surname Jannings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 127013th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jannings, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jannings
The surname Jannings has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the late medieval period around the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name "Jan" or "Johann," which itself stems from the Hebrew name "Yohanan" meaning "Yahweh is gracious."
The earliest recorded instances of the Jannings surname can be found in various German census records and municipal registers from the 1400s and 1500s. It was particularly prevalent in the northern regions of Germany, such as Lower Saxony and Westphalia, where variations like "Jannynges" and "Janninge" were also documented.
One notable historical figure bearing the Jannings surname was Conrad Jannings, a German theologian and humanist scholar who lived from 1510 to 1567. He was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation and served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.
In the 17th century, the Jannings surname began to appear in various church records and parish registers across other parts of Europe, indicating the migration and spread of families with this name. For instance, there are records of a Johann Jannings, born in 1624 in the town of Lübeck, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Jannings surname can also be linked to certain place names in Germany, such as the village of Janningshausen in the state of Hesse. It is possible that some branches of the Jannings family may have derived their name from this or similar locations.
During the 19th century, the Jannings surname gained further prominence with the birth of Emil Jannings in 1884. He was a renowned German actor and the first to be awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor, in 1928 and 1929, for his performances in the films "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh."
Other notable individuals with the Jannings surname include Heinrich Jannings, a German politician and member of the Reichstag in the late 19th century, and Karl Jannings, a German writer and journalist who lived from 1857 to 1917.
Overall, the surname Jannings has a rich history deeply rooted in German heritage, with various branches and notable figures emerging across different periods and regions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jannings
Among Census respondents with the surname Jannings, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jannings 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 Jannings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 135
- Black or African American2.8% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jannings
Jannings 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-35 bearers (-24.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 38,917 places
2020
#127,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
+35 bearers (+33.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 26,756 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,852 | 141 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -35 bearers (-24.8%) | Down 38,917 places |
| 2020 | #127,013 | 141 | 0.05 | +35 bearers (+33.0%) | Up 26,756 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 Jannings 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 | #153,769 | #127,013 | 17.4% |
| Count | 106 | 141 | 33.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.05 | 17.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jannings bearers went from 106 to 141 (+33.0% change). The surname moved up 26,756 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #127,013.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Jannings
FAQ
Jannings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jannings?
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the surname Jannings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,115,768 residents.
How common is Jannings?
Jannings ranks #127,013 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 141 people with the surname Jannings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (162), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Jannings.
Has Jannings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jannings went from 106 recorded bearers to 141. That is an increase of 35 (+33.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #127,013.
What does the Census say about the background of Jannings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jannings, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Jannings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (135 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jannings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Black (2.8%), Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Jannings (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 Jannings mean?
A variant of the surname Jennings, possibly derived from a place name. 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 Jannings (0.05 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 share the surname Jannings?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.