Find out how popular the last name Cloninger is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cloninger.

Cloninger, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cloninger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cloninger in America

Cloninger is the 12504th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cloninger surname appeared 2,479 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cloninger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cloninger to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cloninger

The surname CLONINGER is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to derive from the Old German word "klunger," meaning "bell ringer" or "bell founder," suggesting that the surname may have initially been an occupational name for someone who worked with bells or in a church.

One of the earliest documented examples of the CLONINGER name can be found in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Cloninger was listed as a resident in the year 1583. This record provides evidence that the name had already become established in Germany by the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the CLONINGER name began to appear in various regions of what is now modern-day Germany, with records showing families with this surname residing in areas such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. One notable individual from this period was Johann Cloninger, a clockmaker who lived in the town of Augsburg from 1645 to 1712.

As the centuries progressed, the CLONINGER surname spread to other parts of Europe and eventually made its way to the Americas through immigration. In the late 18th century, a family by the name of CLONINGER settled in Pennsylvania, where they established themselves as farmers and tradesmen.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, several individuals with the CLONINGER surname achieved notable accomplishments. One such figure was Friedrich Cloninger, a German philosopher and academic who lived from 1822 to 1897 and authored several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.

Another notable CLONINGER was Heinrich Cloninger, a German-American businessman and industrialist who founded the Cloninger Manufacturing Company in Chicago in the late 19th century. This company became a major producer of machinery and equipment for the growing industrial sector in the United States.

In the realm of literature, the CLONINGER name is associated with the American author and journalist, Emily Cloninger, who was born in 1876 and gained recognition for her insightful writings on social issues and women's rights in the early 20th century.

The CLONINGER surname has also been carried by several notable figures in the field of science and academia, such as the American physicist and educator, William Cloninger, who made significant contributions to the study of nuclear physics in the mid-20th century.

While the CLONINGER name has its roots in Germany and can be traced back several centuries, it has since spread across various parts of the world, with individuals bearing this surname making their mark in diverse fields and professions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cloninger

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cloninger.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cloninger was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cloninger has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cloninger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cloninger, please contact us.

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