How common is the surname Essen?

440 people in the United States had the surname Essen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 701,694 Americans. It ranked 48,060th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Essen?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Essen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Essen?

Magnus Gustav von Essen, Baltic German military personnel (1759-1813), followed by Peter Essen.

Where is the surname Essen most common?

Wikidata records people named Essen in the Russian Empire.

How do you pronounce Essen?

Essen is /ˈɛsən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Essen getting more or less common?

Less common. 453 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 440 in 2010, down 2.9%.

The surname Essen

A German surname, carried by 440 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈɛsən/ 2 syllables Soundex E250

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Essen is more common than 70.4% of them.

Origin

German origin

From the German city and surname, often confused with essen (“eating”), but this is not related. The city's oldest name, Astnide, could be related to Old High German asc (“ash tree”). The surname is from the city.

One of 1,101 German surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 440 people named Essen in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 701,694 Americans. That is down 2.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 453.

#48,060

rank among US surnames

440

people in 2010

0.1

per 100,000 Americans

-2.9%

change since 2000 (was #44,654)

Who is named Essen

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

93% of people named Essen identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.8% as Black (not Hispanic).

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Black (not Hispanic) 1.8%
Two or more races 1.4%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Asian & Pacific Islander, Native American are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Essens

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Magnus Gustav von Essen
Baltic German military personnel (1759-1813)
Peter Essen
Baltic German military general (1772-1844)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Essen

Eisen

Essen has the Soundex code E250, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code E250.

Other German surnames

All 1,101 German surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Essen come from?: From the German city and surname, often confused with essen (“eating”), but this is not related. The city's oldest name, Astnide, could be related to Old High German asc (“ash tree”). The surname is from the city.
How common is the surname Essen?: 440 people in the United States had the surname Essen in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 701,694 Americans. It ranked 48,060th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Essen?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Essen identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Essen?: Magnus Gustav von Essen, Baltic German military personnel (1759-1813), followed by Peter Essen.
Where is the surname Essen most common?: Wikidata records people named Essen in the Russian Empire.
How do you pronounce Essen?: Essen is /ˈɛsən/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Essen getting more or less common?: Less common. 453 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 440 in 2010, down 2.9%.