Krause
A German nickname surname meaning “curly-haired” or “curly,” from a word for frizzy or crisp hair.
The #1,009 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,892 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Krause comes from German kraus, meaning “curly,” “crisp,” or “frizzled.” It was originally a descriptive nickname, most likely for someone with curly hair. Older dictionaries also connect it with related older Germanic forms meaning rough or curled, reinforcing the same basic sense.
History
The surname is especially common in German-speaking areas and also spread widely through German emigration to North America. Historical surname writers regularly place Krause with other descriptive names based on appearance, such as Lange (“tall”) or Schwarz (“dark”). In some regions, especially northern Germany, the shorter form Kraus is closely related and often treated as a variant.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname scholars often glossed Krause simply as “Curly,” treating it as a straightforward nickname rather than a family-clan label.
From the historical record
“KRAUS KRAUSE KRAUSS KRAUSSE (Ger.) Curly-Headed [Ger.kraus, crisp, curly ; M.H.Ger. krits = ai.Dut. inns (mod. Dut. kroes]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)