Reiss is a surname of Old German origin, and was most commonly used by Ashkenazic Jewish people as a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rice (Yiddish רײַז), or as an ornamental name from the Old High German word Reis ‘twig,’ ‘branch.’
Reiss (often written with the German letter ß (Typographic ligature#German .C3.9F, or sharp-s)) is mostly originated in Austria and South Germany. The south German or Austrian Reiss is a leftover of a profession name Reußhäusler which could best be translated to maker of charcoal from wood in English. Members of this profession usually have been free residents (in the meaning of not enslaved and not belonging to a Duke or King) and got very early the right to carry a weapon (axe) and a uniform like dress, comparable to miners.
Another source for the name Reiss - originated mostly from the County of Hessen (Frankfurth/Main) area is a Jewish name. Some Ancestral historians write it could come from a dealer in rice or from the profession of a water gate operator, or a fish basket fisherman. At the Museum of the Judengasse (Jewish ghetto) in Frankfurt there is definitive evidence that a 'Reuse' (fish basket or creel) was one of the signs attached to Jewish homes in the streets; other signs included shields leading to names such as Rothschild. According to Dr M. Lenarz at the museum Jewish residents of the ghetto derived their legal names from the names of the house in which they were resident.
A next source is reported to be located in the former very North-Northeast Germany. It shall be originated in the Scandinavian languages (Norway/Sweden). There, the ancient Rus is the land around a river from the Baltic Sea to the heart of Russia. So the Reuss Men or Reussians are early Dark Ages Russians. A very final and believable source is from armoured horsemen (without noble title). They are still called Reisige in German. This may come from Ross reitende, German for Horse riding Men).
The surname Reisman is a variant.
Abraham Joseph Reiss, officially the first ordained rabbi of the United States
Albert Reiss, German operatic tenor
Anya Reiss, British playwright
Bob Reiss, American author
Chen Reiss, Israeli opera singer
Clotilde Reiss, French student held hostage in Iran from 2009–2010
Dani Reiss, CEO of the Canadian company Canada Goose
David Reiss, British fashion retail store founder of Reiss (brand)
David Reiss, American Social Psychologist
Diana Reiss, American psychologist
Dominic Reiss, American physicist
Dorit Reiss Immunization advocate
Reiss Fielding Absolute Legend
Elayne Reiss-Weimann, Elementary school teacher and co-creator (with Rita Friedman) of The Letter People
Ellen Reiss, chair of the Aesthetic Realism Foundation
Ephraim Cohen-Reiss, 20th century founder of the first Hebrew school system in Palestine and the Levant
Eric Reiss, American author
Friedrich Reiss (1937–1999), German entomologist, discoverer of Parapsectra
Hans Reiss (born 1922), German professor
Howard Reiss (1922-2015), American physical chemist and theorist, founding editor of "Progress in Solid State Chemistry" and "Journal of Statistical Physics". Author of "Methods of Thermodynamics"
Hugo Reiss, former consul of Brazil in Shanghai, and father of Jane Engelhard
James Reiss, American poet
Ignace Reiss, alias of Soviet spy Ignace Poretsky
Ira Reiss, American sociologist and sexuality researcher
Izydor Reiss, Polish writer (see Sydor Rey)
Johanna Reiss, Dutch-American writer and Holocaust survivor
Katharina Reiss, translation scholar
L. W. Reiss, former Virginia Tech college football coach
Lionel S. Reiss, Polish-American artist, famous for his depictions of "Jewish Life"
Louise Reiss, American physician who coordinated the "Baby Tooth Survey."
Manfred Reiss, Polish-British artist
Michael Reiss, British bioethicist, educator, and former Director of Education at the Royal Society
Michel Reiss, German mathematician
Mike Reiss, American television writer (The Simpsons)
Mitchell Reiss, American diplomat
Paul Reiss, educator
Piotr Reiss, Polish footballer
Spencer Reiss, American journalist
Stuart A. Reiss (born 1921), American set decorator
Tom Reiss, American author and journalist
Uzzi Reiss, Israeli-American physician, pioneering gynecologist, and antiaging specialist
Vivian Reiss, New York artist
Winold Reiss, German-American artist
Yona Reiss, American rabbi and director of the Beth Din of America, the largest rabbinical court in the United States
Zeev Reiss Israeli micropaleontologist and geologist
Jonathan Reiss, fictional character in the "Lara Croft" film
Historia Reiss, fictional character in the manga/anime Shingeki no Kyojin
Reiss (name) Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA