2000
#7,415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,144
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.54
Rare Last name
Nussbaum
A toponymic German surname referring to someone who lived near a nut tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,094 Americans carry the last name Nussbaum. That puts it at #7,244 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nussbaum 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
5.1K
1 in 67,286
Census rank
#7,244
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,442 bearers of the surname Nussbaum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7244th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nussbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nussbaum
The surname NUSSBAUM originated in Germany and Austria, derived from the German words "Nuss" meaning nut and "Baum" meaning tree, likely referring to a nut tree or someone who lived near such a tree. It first appeared in records dating back to the 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Biberach town records of 1292, where a Cunradus Nuzboum is mentioned. The name also appears in the tax records of Ulm, Germany in 1351 as Nuzboum.
In the 14th century, the name is recorded in various spellings such as Nuszboum, Nuszbawm, and Nuzpawm, reflecting the regional dialects and variations in spelling conventions of the time.
The name NUSSBAUM is associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Johannes Nussbaum, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1529 to 1594 and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
Another prominent figure was Johann Nussbaum, a German military officer who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and later became a highly respected military strategist and author of several influential works on tactics and strategy.
In the 18th century, Johann Nussbaum (1705-1779) was a German composer and organist known for his contributions to sacred music and his work as a court musician in Württemberg.
Moving to the 19th century, Karl Nussbaum (1819-1892) was a German painter and illustrator renowned for his landscapes and depictions of rural life in southern Germany.
More recently, Martha Nussbaum (born 1947) is an American philosopher and professor who has made significant contributions to the fields of ethics, political philosophy, and feminism, and has received numerous awards and honors for her work.
While the name NUSSBAUM is most commonly associated with Germany and Austria, it has also been found in other German-speaking regions and among German immigrant communities around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nussbaum
Among Census respondents with the surname Nussbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Nussbaum 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 Nussbaum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 4,190
- Two or more races2.3% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 37
- Black or African American0.5% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nussbaum
Nussbaum 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
#7,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,321
+177 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 269 places
2020
#7,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,442
+121 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Up 440 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,415 | 4,144 | 1.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,684 | 4,321 | 1.46 | +177 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 269 places |
| 2020 | #7,244 | 4,442 | 1.49 | +121 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 440 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 Nussbaum 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 | #7,684 | #7,244 | 5.7% |
| Count | 4,321 | 4,442 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.49 | 1.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nussbaum bearers went from 4,321 to 4,442 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 440 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,684 to #7,244.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Nussbaum
FAQ
Nussbaum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nussbaum?
Name Census estimates that about 5,094 living Americans carry the surname Nussbaum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,286 residents.
How common is Nussbaum?
Nussbaum ranks #7,244 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.49 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,442 people with the surname Nussbaum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,094), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.49 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Nussbaum.
Has Nussbaum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nussbaum went from 4,321 recorded bearers to 4,442. That is an increase of 121 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,684 to #7,244.
What does the Census say about the background of Nussbaum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nussbaum, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Nussbaum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (4,190 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nussbaum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Two or More Races (2.3%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Nussbaum (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 Nussbaum mean?
A toponymic German surname referring to someone who lived near a nut tree. 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 Nussbaum (1.49 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 have the surname Nussbaum?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.