2000
#531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 56,153
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.82
Uncommon Last name
Weiss
A German and Jewish surname meaning "white," referring to someone with very pale hair or complexion.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 64,039 Americans carry the last name Weiss. That puts it at #588 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,352 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weiss 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 Weiss with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
64K
1 in 5,352
Census rank
#588
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
56K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 55,845 bearers of the surname Weiss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 588th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weiss
The surname Weiss originated in Germany and German-speaking regions of Europe. It is derived from the German word 'weiss', which means 'white'. The name likely referred to someone with white hair, pale complexion, or perhaps even someone who worked with white materials or fabrics.
The earliest known records of the surname Weiss date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. It appeared in various forms such as Weys, Weyz, and Weyss, reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which mentions a certain Heinrich Weyss in 1287.
The name Weiss also appears in the Bürgermeisterbuch, a historical record of the city of Nuremberg, where a Konrad Weiss is listed as a citizen in 1349.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the surname Weiss. One of the earliest was Judah Loew ben Bezalel (c. 1520-1609), a prominent rabbi and philosopher from Prague, also known as the Maharal.
Another famous bearer of the name was Christian Samuel Weiss (1701-1785), a German theologian and biblical scholar known for his work on the New Testament.
In the 19th century, Johann Baptist Weiss (1820-1899) was a renowned German Catholic theologian and biblical scholar, best known for his contributions to the study of the Gospels.
The 20th century saw the rise of influential figures like Paul Weiss (1901-2002), an American philosopher and literary critic, and Peter Weiss (1916-1982), a German playwright, novelist, and filmmaker known for his works exploring the human condition and social injustice.
One of the most famous current bearers of the name is Michael Weiss, a renowned American figure skating analyst and commentator.
While the surname Weiss is predominantly found in German-speaking regions, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weiss
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Weiss 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 Weiss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 51,934
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,807
- Two or more races2.2% · 1,230
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 472
- Black or African American0.5% · 304
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 98
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weiss
Weiss 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
#587
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,112
+959 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 19.36
Rank movement Down 56 places
2020
#588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,845
-1,267 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 18.68
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #531 | 56,153 | 20.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #587 | 57,112 | 19.36 | +959 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 56 places |
| 2020 | #588 | 55,845 | 18.68 | -1,267 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 1 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 Weiss 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 | #587 | #588 | -0.2% |
| Count | 57,112 | 55,845 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 19.36 | 18.68 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weiss bearers went from 57,112 to 55,845 (-2.2% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #587 to #588.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Weiss
FAQ
Weiss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weiss?
Name Census estimates that about 64,039 living Americans carry the surname Weiss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,352 residents.
How common is Weiss?
Weiss ranks #588 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 19 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 55,845 people with the surname Weiss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (64,039), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 19 of them to have the surname Weiss.
Has Weiss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weiss went from 57,112 recorded bearers to 55,845. That is a decrease of 1,267 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #587 to #588.
What does the Census say about the background of Weiss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Weiss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (51,934 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weiss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Weiss (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 Weiss mean?
A German and Jewish surname meaning "white," referring to someone with very pale hair or complexion. 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 Weiss (18.68 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 last name Weiss?
See how many people have the surname Weiss on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.