2000
#9,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Kahle
A German occupational surname referring to a person who was bald or had a bald patch.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,564 Americans carry the last name Kahle. That puts it at #9,915 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,171 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kahle 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
3.6K
1 in 96,171
Census rank
#9,915
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,108 bearers of the surname Kahle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9915th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kahle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kahle
The surname Kahle is of German origin, and its earliest known usage dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "kahl," which means "bald" or "bare." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname for someone with a shaved head or a bald appearance.
The name Kahle was particularly prevalent in the regions of southern Germany, including Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Ulm, a city in Baden-Württemberg, where a certain Hans Kahle was mentioned in the year 1528.
In the 17th century, the Kahle surname appeared in various historical documents, such as church registers and tax records, indicating that the name had become well-established in certain German communities. For example, in 1645, a Johann Kahle was documented as a landowner in the village of Mühlhausen, located in what is now the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
As the centuries progressed, the Kahle name spread to other parts of Europe and eventually beyond. One notable figure bearing this surname was Johann Peter Kahle (1768-1823), a German Protestant theologian and Orientalist who made significant contributions to the study of Arabic and Persian languages.
Another prominent Kahle was Wilhelm Kahle (1904-1976), a German theologian and biblical scholar who specialized in the study of ancient Semitic languages and their influence on the texts of the Bible. He was born in Göttingen and spent much of his academic career at the University of Heidelberg.
In the 19th century, the Kahle surname also found its way to the United States through German immigration. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was that of Johann Kahle, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1753 from the Palatinate region of Germany.
Other notable individuals with the Kahle surname include Karl Kahle (1905-1982), a German composer and conductor who was known for his works in the field of church music, and Wilhelm Kahle (1924-2017), a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union party, who served as the Minister of Transport in West Germany from 1976 to 1982.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kahle
Among Census respondents with the surname Kahle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kahle 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 Kahle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 2,933
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 69
- Two or more races2.2% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 20
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kahle
Kahle 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
#10,088
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,195
+68 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 552 places
2020
#9,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,108
-87 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Up 173 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,536 | 3,127 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,088 | 3,195 | 1.08 | +68 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 552 places |
| 2020 | #9,915 | 3,108 | 1.04 | -87 bearers (-2.7%) | Up 173 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 Kahle 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 | #10,088 | #9,915 | 1.7% |
| Count | 3,195 | 3,108 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 1.04 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kahle bearers went from 3,195 to 3,108 (-2.7% change). The surname moved up 173 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,088 to #9,915.
FAQ
Kahle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kahle?
Name Census estimates that about 3,564 living Americans carry the surname Kahle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,171 residents.
How common is Kahle?
Kahle ranks #9,915 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 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 3,108 people with the surname Kahle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,564), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 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 Kahle.
Has Kahle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kahle went from 3,195 recorded bearers to 3,108. That is a decrease of 87 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,088 to #9,915.
What does the Census say about the background of Kahle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kahle, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.2%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Kahle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (2,933 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kahle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Hispanic (2.2%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Kahle (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 Kahle mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who was bald or had a bald patch. 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 Kahle (1.04 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 common is the surname Kahle?
You can see how many people have the last name Kahle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.