2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kabay
A surname originating from Ottoman Turkish denoting one who stayed behind or remained behind.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Kabay. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kabay 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Kabay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kabay, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kabay
The surname Kabay has its origins in Hungary, with records dating back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Hungarian word "kaba," which means a type of sheepskin coat or cloak worn by shepherds and peasants. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been involved in pastoral or agricultural occupations.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Kabay can be found in a land registry from the town of Szeged in southern Hungary, dated 1487. The record mentions a certain "Georgius Kabay" as a landowner in the region. This indicates that the name was well-established in the area by that time.
In the 16th century, the surname Kabay appeared in various Hungarian historical documents, including court records and church registers. For instance, a man named Petrus Kabay is listed as a witness in a legal document from the town of Debrecen in 1543.
The earliest known individual with the surname Kabay was Janos Kabay, born around 1410 in the village of Tiszaörs, near the city of Szolnok. He was a farmer and landowner, and his descendants continued to use the surname for generations.
Another notable figure in the history of the Kabay name was Mihály Kabay (1621-1692), a Protestant minister and scholar from the town of Sárospatak. He authored several theological works and was known for his influential sermons during the turbulent period of the Counter-Reformation in Hungary.
In the 18th century, the surname Kabay was also found among the Hungarian nobility. One such example is István Kabay (1740-1818), a landowner and military officer from the town of Eger, who served in the Habsburg armies during the Napoleonic Wars.
The name Kabay has also been associated with various place names in Hungary, such as Kabay-puszta (Kabay Manor) and Kabay-kert (Kabay Garden), which were likely named after prominent families bearing this surname in those regions.
Throughout its history, the surname Kabay has been spelled in various ways, including Kabai, Kabaÿ, and Kabaji, reflecting regional variations and orthographic changes over time. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, reflecting its deep roots in Hungarian cultural and linguistic heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kabay
Among Census respondents with the surname Kabay, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kabay 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 Kabay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 7
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kabay
Kabay 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+10 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 437 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,361 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 437 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 10,361 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 Kabay 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 | #138,304 | #148,665 | -7.5% |
| Count | 121 | 111 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kabay bearers went from 121 to 111 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 10,361 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #148,665.
FAQ
Kabay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kabay?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Kabay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Kabay?
Kabay ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Kabay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Kabay.
Has Kabay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kabay went from 121 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Kabay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kabay, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Kabay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kabay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (6.3%), Black (1.8%). 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 Kabay (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 Kabay mean?
A surname originating from Ottoman Turkish denoting one who stayed behind or remained behind. 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 Kabay (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Kabay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.