Poiss

Poiss is a surname of French origin. It is a less common variant of the more standard surname Poisson and may appear in historical records as a transcriptional variant or regional spelling. The name likely derives from the French word poisson, meaning fish, and may have originated as an occupational name for a fisher or as a topographic surname related to a location associated with fish markets or waterways.

In modern usage, Poisson is the dominant spelling. The similarity to the name of the renowned French mathematician Siméon Denis Poisson means the word is often associated with the Poisson distribution and the Poisson process in probability theory; however, these terms are derived from Poisson with the double s and should not be conflated with Poiss, which remains a separate orthographic variant.

Notable individuals bearing the surname Poiss exist but are not widely documented in standard biographical references, and Poiss remains far less common than Poisson. In historical documents, Poiss may reflect transcription variation, regional dialect spelling, or anglicization.

See also: Poisson, Poisson distribution, Poisson process.