Glass (surname)

Glass or Glaß is a surname with several sources. It can be Cornish, English, German, Russian/Slavic, Irish or Scottish. Many with the last name Glass, are of eastern European descent, where Glass is a shortened version of their original last name. It is also a Jewish surname, adopted by some Eastern European Ashkenazi in the nineteenth century. After being forced by the authorities to take on a surname, Jews in this area typically chose names referring to places, animals, occupations or signifying personal traits. The name Glass referred to Glass-making, Glazing and the Glass trade.

Notable people with the surname

• Alice Glass (born 1988), vocalist of Crystal Castles
• Alice Glass (1911–1976, maiden name of Alice Marsh, American socialite
• Aqeel Glass (born 1998), American football player
• Ari Glass (born 1989), American painter
• H. Bentley Glass (1906–2005), American geneticist
• Butch Glass (1898–1972), American Negro league baseball player
• Caitlin Glass (born 1981), American voice actress
• Carter Glass (1858–1946), American politician
• Charles Glass (born 1951), American broadcaster
• Cheryl Glass (1961–1997), American racing driver
• Christian Glass (died 2022), American man who was shot dead
• Cody Glass (born 1999), Canadian ice hockey player
• Conrad Glass (born 1961), Tristanian police inspector and civil servant
• Darren Glass (born 1981), Australian rules footballer
• David Glass (Canadian politician) (1829–1906), Canadian lawyer
• David Glass (sociologist) (1911–1978), English sociologist
• David D. Glass (1935–2020), Kansas City Royals owner
• Deborah Glass (born 1959), Deputy Chair of the UK's Independent Police Complaints Commission
• Dominion Robert Glass (1895–1968) African-American educator and academic administrator
• Eduard Glass (1902–after 1980), Austrian chess master
• Edward Glass (disambiguation), several people with this name
• Franklin Potts Glass, Sr. (1858–1934), American publisher
• Fridolin Glass (1910–1943), Austrian Nazi activist and SS officer
• Gene V. Glass (born 1940), American statistician and education researcher
• George Glass (1910–1984), American film producer and publicist
• Gerald Glass (born 1967), American former basketball player
• Geri Glass (born 1949), American model
• Glen Glass (born 1965), American politician
• Harold Glass (1918–1989), Australian judge and jurist
• Harry Glaß (1930–1997), German ski jumper
• Helen Glass (1917–2015), Canadian nurse and educator
• Henry Glass (disambiguation), several people with this name
• Henry Glaß (born 1953), German ski jumper
• Henry Glass (admiral) (1844–1908), Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy
• Henry P. Glass (1911–2003), Austrian-born American architect and industrial designer
• Hugh Glass (1780–1833), fur trapper and frontiersman
• Ira Glass (born 1959), host of This American Life
• Jack Glass (1936–2004), Scottish evangelical preacher
• Jeff Glass (athlete) (born 1962), Canadian hurdler
• Jeff Glass (ice hockey) (born 1985), American Hockey League goaltender
• Jesse Glass (born 1954), American writer and poet
• Jimmy Glass (born 1973), English former football goalkeeper
• Joanna Glass (born 1936), Canadian playwright
• John Judah Glass (1895–1973), Canadian politician
• Joseph Glass (disambiguation), multiple people
• Julia Glass (born 1956), American writer
• Kim Glass (born 1984), American volleyball player
• Louis Glass (1864–1936), Danish composer
• N. Louise Glass (active since 1989), American microbial scientist
• Max Glass (1881–1965), Austrian film producer
• Ned Glass (1906–1984), Polish-born American character actor
• Pat Glass (born 1957), British politician (MP for North West Durham)
• Paul Glass (born 1934), Swiss-American composer
• Philip Glass (born 1937), American composer and pianist
• Presley T. Glass (1824–1902), American politician
• Richard Atwood Glass (1820–1873), English cable manufacturer and politician
• Ron Glass (1945–2016), American actor
• Shaun Glass, guitarist for the band SOiL
• Solomon Glass (1893–1973), philatelist of Baltimore, Maryland
• Stephen Glass (born 1972), journalist
• Stephen Glass (footballer) (born 1976), Scottish footballer
• Tanner Glass (born 1983), Pittsburgh Penguins center
• Todd Glass (born 1964), American stand-up comedian
• Walter Glaß (1905–1981), German skier
• William Glass (1786–1853), British settler on Tristan da Cunha

Fictional characters

• Glass family, a fictional family featured in a number of J. D. Salinger's short stories