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

Kalish, 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 Kalish surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kalish in America

Kalish is the 10974th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kalish surname appeared 2,899 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 Kalish.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kalish 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 Kalish

The surname Kalish has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the region that is now modern-day Poland. It is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, during a time of significant migration and cultural exchanges in the region.

One of the earliest documented references to the name Kalish can be found in a Polish census record from the year 1567, which lists a family bearing this surname residing in the town of Kalisz, located in central Poland. It is likely that the name Kalish is derived from the place name Kalisz, which itself comes from the Slavic word "kalina," meaning "viburnum" or a type of shrub.

In the 17th century, the Kalish surname began to spread beyond the borders of Poland, as families with this name migrated to other parts of Eastern Europe, including present-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. This diaspora was driven by various factors, such as economic opportunities, religious persecution, and political instability.

One notable figure bearing the Kalish surname was Yehuda Kalish, a prominent Polish-Jewish scholar and Talmudist who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He authored several important works on Jewish law and theology, including "Sefer Ha-Zikaron" and "Sefer Ha-Hayyim."

Another historically significant individual with the Kalish surname was Mikhail Kalish, a Russian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1787 and gained recognition for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of Borodino in 1812.

In the 19th century, the Kalish surname began to appear in records from other parts of Europe, as well as in the Americas, as families emigrated from Eastern Europe in search of new opportunities. For example, Isaac Kalish, born in 1818 in Poland, was one of the earliest known Jewish settlers in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States.

Another notable figure was Isidor Kalish, a Russian-American painter and writer who lived from 1886 to 1954. He was known for his portraits and landscapes, as well as his memoirs, which provided valuable insights into the lives of Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century.

Throughout its history, the Kalish surname has been subject to various spellings and variations, such as Kalisch, Kališ, and Kaliszewski, reflecting the diverse linguistic and cultural influences in the regions where it was found.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kalish

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

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 Kalish 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 Kalish 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 Kalish was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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