What ethnicity is the name Krause?

The name Krause is of German ethnicity and is one of the most common German surnames, with origins in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Krause comes from Middle High German krus meaning curly, frizzy, or wavy, so it originally described someone with curly hair and was used as a nickname surname in medieval Germany. It is ranked among the top 20 most common surnames in Germany and is especially prevalent in eastern Germany, Saxony, Bavaria, and Silesia. The name is ethnically Germanic, part of the larger Germanic language family that includes German, Austrian, Swiss-German, and Ashkenazi Jewish communities, as many Ashkenazi Jews in Germany also adopted the surname Krause. Variations include Kraus, Krauss, Kruse, and Krausse, all German. Due to German emigration in the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Krause is now also common in the United States, particularly in Midwestern states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Pennsylvania where German immigrants settled, in Brazil, Argentina, and Canada. In the US, people with the surname Krause are typically of German descent. So ethnically, Krause is German, meaning curly-haired, and indicates German ancestry, though today people with the name may identify with American, Brazilian, or other nationalities while retaining German ethnic origin.