Surname Neuss - Meaning and Origin

Neuss: What does the surname Neuss mean?

The last name Neuss is believed to be a German/Prussian surname, most likely deriving from a city called Neuss located in North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, it was a major Roman-founded city and served as one of the five main military and administrative centers of the early medieval Franks.

The name Neuss itself derives from the Latin word ‘nausa’, which meant a wooden shelter or lodge. It was likely adopted by some families as a marker of their homeland. Alternatively, some believe the surname could be derived from the old word ‘neum’, which means ‘noise’, perhaps referring to a loud and busy place.

The earliest known recorded Neuss ancestor was one Rudolfus de Nüsse, who lived in the village of Laudenbach in Germany in 1377. In the following centuries, many people with the Neuss surname moved away from their homeland in rural Germany and made their way to other European countries, as well as to America, in search of new opportunities.

Today there are Neusses living all over the globe who proudly display the surname in their family tree. While there are many different ways this surname could have derived, all those with the Neuss surname continue to be connected by a rich history and shared roots.

Neuss: Where does the name Neuss come from?

The Neuss surname is most common today in Germany. This is where it originated centuries ago. The name is derived from the German phrase “von Neuss” which means “from Neuss.” This phrase was typically used to refer to someone who had resided in the town of Neuss, which is a town located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. Today, Neuss is a large city with a population of roughly 159,000 people. Records indicate that the first recorded use of the Neuss surname was in the year 1379, when a man by the name of Johann Neuss served as the mayor of Neuss.

The Neuss surname is particularly common today in Germany, where it remains the 66th most frequent name. Based on records from the 1990 census, the Neuss surname was also quite popular in Austria and Switzerland, where it was the 18th and 99th most frequent name, respectively. In the United States, the Neuss surname is not as common. Records indicate that there were only around 739 families with the Neuss surname as of the 1990 U.S. census, and it appears to be even less common today.

Overall, the Neuss surname is most common in Germany, where it originated centuries ago. Records further reveal that the Neuss surname is also somewhat common in Austria and Switzerland, and less common in the United States.

Variations of the surname Neuss

Neuss is a German surname that can be spelt and pronounced in various ways. Commonly, the name is spelled Nuss or Neus. It can also be found as Noess, Noes, Naess, Näus, Näuss, Neuß or Nöss.

When searching genealogical records, it is important to note that surnames can be mistranslated, as a result of poor record keeping or language barriers. Neuss can be translated to a host of other European languages, including alternative spellings such as Nauss or Noess in French and Nös in Swedish.

Variant spellings of Neuss are also found in American records, such as Nuss, Noes, Nace, Ness and Neff. Some of these variants could have originated independently of the original or as a foreign mispronunciation of the original.

Common continuous surnames of Neuss include Nussmann, Neussner, Nussbaumer, Neusslinger, Nussle and Noessner. Continuous names are created by attaching suffixes — such as ‘man’, ‘er’, ‘baum’, ‘ling’ or ‘le’ — to the original surname. For instance, the suffix ‘mann’ means ‘man’ and may have indicated an occupation, while ‘er’ denotes a place of origin. Therefore, the name Neusser may have originally implied a person who was from Neuss.

Ultimately, it is essential to understand that the variants of Neuss, such as Nauss, Nös and Noes, should not be disregarded when conducting genealogical research as they can potentially open up a wealth of information.

Famous people with the name Neuss

• Michael Neuss: German film producer and president of the Producers at Winners & Nominees.
• Robert Neuss: German actor and voice actor.
• Ludwig Neuss: German mathematician and physicist of the 19th century.
• Friedrich Neuss: German painter, draughtsman, composer, and experimental photographer.
• Eduard Neuss: Austrian politician who served as Minister of Education in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Carl Neuss: German retailer, banker, and co-founder of one of the world’s oldest banking companies, Deutsche Bank.
• Max Neuss: German doctor and longtime president of the German-Israeli Association.
• Karl Neuss: German botanist, zoologist, chemist, environmentalist, and founder of the Max Neuss Foundation.
• Klaus Neuss: German cyclist who competed in the Tour de France six times and won one stage.
• Lothar Neuss: German astronomer who discovered four comets and was an early advocate of space exploration.
• Maximilian Neuss: German painter who specialized in landscape and figure paintings.
• Jochen Neuss: German actor and director who starred in films such as Love and War in the Apennines and Der Mann auf der Mauer.
• Jan Neuss: Dutch professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
• Arnold Neuss: Austrian industrial chemist and inventor who was the first to synthesize rubber and artificial latex.
• Johann Joachim Neuss: German publisher and writer of the early 19th century.
• Ernst Neuss: German natural scientist and explorer who traveled to South America in the 18th century to collect plants.
• Julia Neuss: German television actress known for her role in the SOAP opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten.

Other surnames

NeusNeuschaeferNeuschäferNeuschäfferNeuschmidNeuschmidtNeuschroerNeuschröerNeuschulteNeuschultenNeuschultzNeuschwanderNeuschwenderNeusserNeussert