2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kaether
A variant of the German surname Käther, meaning rope maker or basket weaver.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Kaether. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaether 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Kaether in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaether, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaether
The surname Kaether is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, where it was likely derived from the Old High German word "kātar," which means "kettle" or "cauldron." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a maker or seller of kettles or cauldrons.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaether can be found in the Bremische Bürgerbuch, a registry of citizens in the city of Bremen, Germany, dating back to the 15th century. The entry from 1487 lists a certain Hans Kaether, a metalworker by trade, indicating a possible connection between the name and the metal-working profession.
In the 16th century, the name Kaether appeared in various records across Germany, including the Kirchenbücher (church registers) of several towns and villages. A notable example is the birth record of Johann Kaether in Neustadt an der Orla, Thuringia, in 1578.
The Kaether name has also been linked to several place names in Germany, such as Kaethershausen, a small village in Thuringia, which may have derived its name from a person with the surname Kaether who resided there or owned land in the area.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Kaether:
1. Hans Kaether (c. 1460 - c. 1520), a renowned metalsmith and armor maker from Nuremberg, whose works were highly sought after by nobility and royalty across Europe.
2. Christoph Kaether (1581 - 1647), a German theologian and professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, known for his contributions to Protestant theology during the Reformation.
3. Johann Gottfried Kaether (1728 - 1804), a German composer and organist who served as the court organist to the Duke of Saxe-Gotha.
4. Friedrich Wilhelm Kaether (1792 - 1867), a German landscape painter and etcher, known for his depictions of the natural scenery of the Harz Mountains.
5. Anna Kaether (1860 - 1944), a German philanthropist and social activist who established several charitable organizations and orphanages in Berlin during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the surname Kaether may have evolved over time, with various spellings and regional variations, its origin can be traced back to the metalworking and craftsmanship traditions of medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaether
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaether, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaether 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 Kaether surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 102
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaether
Kaether appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+3 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,972 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.9%) | Up 3,972 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 Kaether 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 | #154,907 | #150,935 | 2.6% |
| Count | 105 | 108 | 2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaether bearers went from 105 to 108 (+2.9% change). The surname moved up 3,972 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #150,935.
FAQ
Kaether surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaether?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Kaether. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Kaether?
Kaether ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Kaether. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Kaether.
Has Kaether become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaether went from 105 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 3 (+2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaether?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaether, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Kaether in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaether appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Kaether (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 Kaether mean?
A variant of the German surname Käther, meaning rope maker or basket weaver. 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 Kaether (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 people share the surname Kaether?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.