The Ganser surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,043 people carried this name — #24,124 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 285,700 people counted. That is down 4% from 1,089 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Ganser surname
From the German surname for a breeder of geese, from Gans (“goose”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Ganser» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
58 people named Ganser live in Switzerland.
They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 53 people named Ganser.
6 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Haut-Rhin.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 49 people named Ganser live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Who carried it
People named Ganser,
with a public archive behind them.
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Sigbert Josef Maria Ganser 1853–1931 · physician -
Johannes Martin Ganser 1608–1687 · mintmaster
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Benno Ganser 1728–1778 · professor
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Otto Ganser 1872–1948 · writer
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Otto Ganser 1872–1948 · writer
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Lothar Ganser 1908–1984 · lawyer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Ganser.
- Gangemi 916 · U.S. census
- Gangloff 859 · U.S. census
- Ganier 223 · U.S. census
- Ganiere 138 · U.S. census
- Ganon 191 · U.S. census
- Gans 2,429 · U.S. census
- Ganster 398 · U.S. census
- Ganter 907 · U.S. census
- Gantes 157 · U.S. census
- Ganthier 306 · U.S. census
- Gantner 739 · U.S. census
- Gantz 3,177 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Ganser is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.