The Jost surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,104 people carried this name — #8,076 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 71,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 3,972 in 2000.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
4,652 people named Jost live in Switzerland.
They live in 25 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,619 people named Jost.
90 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 64 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 329 people named Jost 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.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 243 people named Jost 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 Misiones.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
109 people named Jost have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 166 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 Pomeranian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 the Nordic population registers
33 people named Jost 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).
In print
Jost in American newspapers,
1894–1939.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 193,397 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Jost,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Johann Karl Friedrich Jost 1789–1870 · actor -
Isaak Markus Jost 1793–1860 · historian -
Henry L. Jost 1873–1950 · lawyer -
Karl Jost 1876–1952 · composer -
Heinrich Jost 1889–1948 · graphic designer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 179 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Jost.
- Jorquera 203 · U.S. census
- Jory 482 · U.S. census
- Jose 10,697 · U.S. census
- Joseph 100,959 · U.S. census
- Joslin 6,868 · U.S. census
- Josserand 202 · U.S. census
- Josue 595 · U.S. census
- Joubert 3,428 · U.S. census
- Joule 127 · U.S. census
- Jourdain 912 · U.S. census
- Jourdan 2,612 · U.S. census
- Jourden 242 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Jost 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.