Krieg
Of German origin, meaning "war" or "battle".
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Krieg. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Krieg today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Krieg births was 1985 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Krieg. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Krieg. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
1985
8 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1994 SSA rank
#7,415
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Krieg: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Krieg from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 26 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Krieg remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Krieg 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 Krieg during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Krieg
The name Krieg is of German origin, derived from the Old High German word 'krieg', which means 'war' or 'battle'. It is believed to have been used as a surname initially, referring to someone who had a reputation for being a skilled warrior or had participated in notable battles.
The earliest recorded use of Krieg as a first name dates back to the 12th century, during the height of the Holy Roman Empire. One of the first documented individuals with this name was Krieg von Nürnberg, a German knight who fought in the Third Crusade alongside Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, Krieg von Hohenzollern, a member of the noble Hohenzollern family, gained fame as a military commander during the Prussian Crusades against the pagan Prussians. His exploits on the battlefield earned him the nickname 'Krieg the Fearless'.
During the Renaissance period, Krieg Albrecht, a German artist and engraver from Nuremberg, became known for his intricate woodcuts and etchings depicting scenes from classical mythology and the Bible. He lived from 1497 to 1566 and his works are still highly regarded in the art world today.
In the 18th century, Krieg von Scharnhorst, a Prussian general and military reformer, played a crucial role in the reorganization and modernization of the Prussian Army. He was born in 1755 and his efforts laid the foundation for Prussia's success in the Napoleonic Wars.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Krieg was Krieg von Clausewitz, a Prussian general and military theorist born in 1780. His book 'On War' is considered a seminal work on the philosophy and theory of warfare and has had a lasting impact on military strategy and tactics.
While the name Krieg may have its roots in the concept of warfare, it has evolved over time and is now used as a given name in its own right, representing strength, courage, and a warrior spirit.
People
Krieg + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Krieg 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
Krieg: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Krieg?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Krieg 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Krieg a common name?
We classify Krieg as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 43 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Krieg most popular?
The single biggest year for Krieg was 1985, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Krieg is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Krieg in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Krieg a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Krieg 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 Krieg still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Krieg 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 Krieg 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Krieg?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.