Foss Surname

18,466th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 29,860 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Norway

Foss Surname Definition:

(Scandinavian) Dweller at a Waterfall [Scandinavian foss, fors]

Foss Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States18,7881:19,2922,420
Norway3,5961:1,430119
Canada1,6441:22,4123,063
Brazil1,5581:137,4035,253
England9721:57,3236,905
Denmark7891:7,154652
Australia4071:66,3297,905
Poland3101:122,60918,218
Germany2941:273,82828,930
Israel2061:41,5425,651
Sweden1881:52,3764,036
South Africa1521:356,43232,570
New Zealand1091:41,5446,955
Argentina1011:423,20232,207
Russia931:1,549,710104,953
India631:12,175,641218,299
Nigeria551:3,220,77797,902
Netherlands501:337,74438,500
Thailand481:1,471,632200,579
Scotland451:118,9747,657
France421:1,581,493147,826
Latvia361:56,9468,548
Kazakhstan361:491,18036,296
Italy301:2,038,55689,453
Guernsey291:2,222539
Chile291:607,46514,668
Ireland221:214,0438,362
Ukraine191:2,395,931155,639
Wales191:162,87011,152
Sudan161:2,344,3874,438
Philippines141:7,231,302192,576
United Arab Emirates141:654,44824,061
Swaziland91:144,244719
Spain81:5,844,00486,878
Mexico61:20,687,70153,861
Cameroon51:4,153,814129,697
Northern Ireland41:461,25916,615
Egypt41:22,983,93862,368
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
Indonesia31:44,083,065698,220
Kenya21:23,089,95083,168
Iceland21:190,0456,825
Peru21:15,892,06251,966
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
Venezuela21:15,102,03869,873
Costa Rica21:2,390,03410,205
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Tanzania11:52,941,613123,716
Cyprus11:884,87613,055
Tunisia11:610,62630,336
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Bosnia and Herzegovina11:3,536,40219,532
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
Bhutan11:616,0391,715
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Belarus11:9,501,059159,228
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Iran11:76,782,524277,718
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Honduras11:8,816,4429,272
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Serbia11:7,144,94838,459
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Slovakia11:5,336,450140,422
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Ethiopia11:97,546,26229,669
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England5611:43,4505,433
Guernsey101:3,266579
Scotland81:467,90212,875
Wales51:313,68310,604
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4,9781:10,0881,302

The alternate forms: Fóss (1) are calculated separately.

Foss (121) may also be a first name.

Foss Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(Scandinavian) Dweller at a Waterfall [Scandinavian foss, fors]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(German, English) Dweller at the sign of the fox; one with the qualities of a fox; dweller near a waterfall; dweller near a ditch or trench.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

The ditch of a fortified place. Conf. De la Fosse, and Ditch.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From Foss in Duloo; from root of Vose, q. v.

Patronymica Cornu-Britannica (1870) by Richard Stephen Charnock

(Cornish British) The entrenchment, moat, or ditch. Fos, Danish, a waterfall, cataract.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Geoffry, Hubert, Ralph, Richard, Stephen de Fossa, or De la Fosse of Normandy, 1198 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae); Roger de Fossa, Richard de la Fosse of England, c. 1272 (Rotuli Hundredorum).

The Norman People (1874)

Foss is now a Kingsbridge name. Robert Foss owned lands in Barnstaple in 1674 (G.).

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Foss Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Foss Come From? nationality or country of origin

Foss (Russian: Фосс) is more commonly found in The United States than any other country or territory. It may appear as: Fóss. For other potential spellings of Foss click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Foss? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 18,466th most commonly used surname on a global scale It is held by around 1 in 244,057 people. The last name is primarily found in The Americas, where 72 percent of Foss live; 66 percent live in North America and 66 percent live in Anglo-North America. Foss is also the 848,089th most commonly held first name in the world. It is borne by 121 people.

The surname is most widespread in The United States, where it is carried by 18,788 people, or 1 in 19,292. In The United States it is most frequent in: California, where 10 percent reside, Minnesota, where 10 percent reside and Washington, where 5 percent reside. Beside The United States this last name is found in 77 countries. It is also found in Norway, where 12 percent reside and Canada, where 6 percent reside.

Foss Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Foss has changed through the years. In The United States the share of the population with the last name expanded 377 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 173 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 563 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Wales it expanded 380 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Foss Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the last name is chiefly Orthodox (78%) in Russia.

In The United States those holding the Foss last name are 4.93% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 51.7% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Foss earn in different countries varies marginally. In Norway they earn 0.06% more than the national average, earning 346,302 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 0.51% more than the national average, earning R 238,848 per year; in United States they earn 2.98% more than the national average, earning $44,434 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.56% more than the national average, earning $49,963 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Fóss921/
Fosse899,429/
Fouss89533/
Fuoss89482/
Fosså89170/
Foess8969/
Åfoss8910/
Fosås896/
Fossø892/
Fooss891/
Fosst891/
Foiss891/
Fos862,680/
Fousse80934/
Foisse8044/
Fossås8016/
Fuosse802/
Fosshe801/
Foosse801/
Pfoess801/
Fossce800/
Voss7556,477/
Fois759,909/
Fuss755,608/
Foos754,954/
Fass753,237/
Fose751,166/
Fous75879/
Foes75799/
Fost75619/
Fosh75537/
Fohs75294/
Füss7555/
Fods7545/
Foxs7544/
Foys7537/
Fojs7535/
Fuos7512/
Fosz757/
Fots757/
Foïs754/
Fhos753/
Fůss753/
Fosx752/
Fosj751/
Pfos751/
Vfos751/
Fozs751/
Fosp751/
Foisstt730/
Foust6715,907/
Fo679,175/
Fouts677,643/
Foose671,901/
Fouse671,763/
Fasse671,453/
Pfost67873/
Foush67808/
Foots67796/
Fauss67772/
Foist67446/
Fosch67442/
Faass67430/
Foshe67255/
Feuss67208/
Fotse67187/
Fusse67184/
Voiss67179/
Fodse6778/
Vooss6741/
Foohs6725/
Fosth6724/
Fohsz6716/
Foost6712/
Foszt6711/
Foyst6710/
Foise6710/
Foods679/
Fushs678/
Foesz678/
Foyse678/
Foscz678/
Foesh675/
Fasst675/
Fahss675/
Pfass674/
Fhosh673/
Phoss673/
Fousp672/
Foyts672/
Fhoes672/
Fohse672/
Fasds672/
Fgosh671/
Foish671/
Fusst671/
Faïss671/
Fosce671/
Fouhs671/
Fodsh671/
Hfoxs671/
Fouds670/
Fotts670/
Fodds670/
Foits670/
Pfous670/
Vouss670/
Fuohs670/

Foss Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Foss in the Russian language
Фоссfoss-

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Foss
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis