Klein
A Germanic masculine name of Dutch and German origin meaning "small".
Name Census estimates that about 349 living Americans carry the first name Klein. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Klein today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Klein births was 2013 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Klein. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Klein with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
349
~ 1 in 982,104 Americans
Peak year
2013
25 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,313
Tracked since 1984
Census
Klein in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 423 people with the first name Klein, which placed it at #23,223 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#23,223
National first-name rank
People counted
423
423 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klein
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Klein is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Klein described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Klein at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.6% · 265
- Black or African American13.0% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.1% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 37
- Two or more races2.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4
Popularity
Klein: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Klein from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 145 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Klein remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Klein by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Klein during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kleins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Klein
The given name Klein is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "klein," which means "small" or "little." This name has its roots in the medieval period, particularly in regions where German was spoken, such as present-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
The name Klein was likely used initially to describe someone of small stature or to distinguish between individuals with the same surname. It may have been a descriptive nickname that later became a given name in its own right.
While there are no known direct references to the name Klein in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was in use among common folk during the Middle Ages. The earliest recorded examples of the name Klein as a given name are found in German historical records dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the given name Klein was Meister Klein, a German sculptor and woodcarver who lived in the late 15th century. His works can be found in various churches and cathedrals throughout southern Germany.
Another notable figure with the name Klein was Caspar Neher (1648-1725), a German Baroque painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraits. His artworks can be found in various churches and museums across Germany.
In the 19th century, Felix Klein (1849-1925) was a renowned German mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of geometry, group theory, and mathematical physics. He is considered one of the leading mathematicians of his time.
Melanie Klein (1882-1960) was an influential Austrian-British psychoanalyst and a pioneer in the field of child psychology. Her work on object relations theory and the development of play therapy had a profound impact on the field of psychoanalysis.
Lastly, Calvin Klein (born 1942) is an American fashion designer who rose to prominence in the late 20th century. He is best known for his minimalist and modern designs, as well as his successful line of fragrances and underwear.
People
Klein + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Klein as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Klein: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Klein?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 349 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Klein going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 982,104 US residents.
Is Klein a common name?
We classify Klein as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 353 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Klein most popular?
The single biggest year for Klein was 2013, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Klein is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Klein in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 423 people with the name Klein, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,223 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Klein in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Klein?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Klein leans strongly male. 351 people counted with this name were male (83.0%), compared with 72 female bearers (17.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Klein?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Klein is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (12.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Klein most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Klein in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (265 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Klein in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Klein a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Klein in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Klein still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Klein in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Klein can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Klein as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Klein on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.