2000
#11,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,487
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Cloninger
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of nails or possibly a nailer of cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,549 Americans carry the last name Cloninger. That puts it at #13,176 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,466 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cloninger surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 134,466
Census rank
#13,176
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,223 bearers of the surname Cloninger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13176th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cloninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cloninger
Among Census respondents with the surname Cloninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Cloninger bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cloninger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 2,077
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 65
- Two or more races2.7% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cloninger
Cloninger appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,504
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,479
-8 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 921 places
2020
#13,176
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,223
-256 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 672 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,583 | 2,487 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,504 | 2,479 | 0.84 | -8 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 921 places |
| 2020 | #13,176 | 2,223 | 0.74 | -256 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 672 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cloninger surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,504 | #13,176 | -5.4% |
| Count | 2,479 | 2,223 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.74 | -11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cloninger bearers went from 2,479 to 2,223 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 672 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,504 to #13,176.
FAQ
Cloninger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cloninger?
Name Census estimates that about 2,549 living Americans carry the surname Cloninger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,466 residents.
How common is Cloninger?
Cloninger ranks #13,176 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,223 people with the surname Cloninger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,549), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cloninger.
Has Cloninger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cloninger went from 2,479 recorded bearers to 2,223. That is a decrease of 256 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,504 to #13,176.
What does the Census say about the background of Cloninger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cloninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cloninger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (2,077 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cloninger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cloninger (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cloninger mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of nails or possibly a nailer of cloth. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cloninger (0.74 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Cloninger?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Cloninger at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.