The Jans surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 983 people carried this name — #25,202 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 303,000 people counted. That is down 10% from 1,096 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Jans surname
Alternative form of Jansen, a common surname originating as a patronymic.
From Jan + -s.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Jans» (Dutch), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 3,185 people named Jans 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 Limburg.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
376 people named Jans live in Switzerland.
They live in 21 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Lucerne.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 Poland’s population register
157 people named Jans have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 195 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 151 people named Jans.
17 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Loire-Atlantique.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 96 people named Jans live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
148 people named Jans is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Jans,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Cornelia Jans 1590–1621 -
Abbe Jans 1450– · grietman
-
Intje Jans 1550–
-
Lucretia Jans 1602–1700 · housewife
-
Maritgen Jans 1611–1631 · sailor
-
Anna Jans 1620–1660 · sailor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Jans.
- Jankowiak 581 · U.S. census
- Jankowski 8,970 · U.S. census
- Janky 118 · U.S. census
- Jannetta 154 · U.S. census
- Janny 134 · U.S. census
- Janowski 2,047 · U.S. census
- Jansen 16,596 · U.S. census
- Janson 3,930 · U.S. census
- Janssen 11,423 · U.S. census
- Janssens 557 · U.S. census
- Janton 139 · U.S. census
- Jantzen 1,590 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Jans 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.