# Claus (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/claus/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

Fictitious surname of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 3,674 |
| US rank (2010) | 8,911 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 84,035 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.5% (3,620 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Dutch and German Claus, a contraction of Nicolaus (“Nicholas”). The spelling Klaus is from more modern German Klaus and other Germanic languages.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Claus in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 93% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.1% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Claus in Belgium, the Russian Empire and Brazil.

## People named Claus

- Hugo Claus, Belgian author (1929–2008)
- Karl Ernst Claus, Baltic German scientist (1796-1864)
- Raphael Claus, Brazilian referee
- Emile Claus, Belgian painter (1849–1924)

## Similar surnames

Clouse, Class, Clauss, Claeys, Colas, Clause, Claes, Clos, Coles, Collazo, Close, Clough.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.