# Glass (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | French |
| Type | nickname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 41,802 |
| US rank (2010) | 823 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,386 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.6% (40,724 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As an English, Jewish and German surname, from the noun glass. * Also as an English surname, from a nickname derived from French glas (“bell, tumult, clash of arms”). * As a Celtic surname (Irish, Welsh, Cornish, and Scottish Gaelic), Anglicized from the adjective glas (“grey”). * Also as a German surname, altered from the personal name Klass, shortened from Nikolaus, compare Nicholas. * As a Slovene surname, Americanized and Germanized from Glas.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Glass 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) | 77% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 17% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Glass in the United States and Austria.

## People named Glass

- Philip Glass, American composer (born 1937)
- Hugh Glass, American fur trapper and frontiersman
- Ron Glass, American actor (1945-2016)
- Alisha Glass, American volleyball player
- Carter Glass, American politician (1858–1946)
- Stephen Glass, American journalist
- Ira Glass, American radio personality
- Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
- Ned Glass, American actor (1906-1984)
- Noah Glass, American technology entrepreneur
- Todd Glass, American comedian
- Max Glass, Austrian film producer

and 1 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Galasso, Gloss, Glasgow, Glasco, Giles, Gillis, Glick, Galicia, Glaze, Gallego, Gluck, Gales.

## 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.