Clouse
A surname most likely developed as an Americanized spelling of German names such as Klause or Klauser.
The #4,032 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,049 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually treated as an American form of German Klause, or sometimes Klauser, with the spelling adjusted to English pronunciation. The underlying German forms are connected with Klaus, a short form of Nikolaus, so the name ultimately points back to the given name Nicholas. In that sense, Clouse is not originally an English word-name but a reshaped immigrant surname.
History
The form seems to have emerged in the United States as German-speaking families adapted their surnames to English spelling habits. Similar spellings such as Claus, Clauser, and Klouse are found in related American surname traditions. Because the available source only gives a brief equivalence list, this entry should be treated as a cautious reconstruction rather than a fully documented family history.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A single surname can sometimes preserve a family’s old German given-name root even after the spelling has been thoroughly Anglicized.
From the historical record
“Cline = Klein, Clinedinst = Kleindienst, Clouse = Klause, Clouser = Klauser, Coar = Kohr, Cockel = Kachel, CofFman = Kaufmann , Coler = Kohler,”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names