2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Kanick
Polish variant of a German surname referring to a person from Konitz or Kanitz.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Kanick. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kanick 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Kanick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kanick, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kanick
The surname Kanick has its origins in the region of West Prussia, an area that is now part of modern-day Poland and Germany. This name dates back to the late 16th century and is believed to be derived from the old Prussian word "kanike," which meant "rabbit."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kanick surname can be found in the church records of the village of Tuchel, located in the Pomeranian region of West Prussia, where a family by the name of Kanick is mentioned in the year 1598.
During the 17th century, the Kanick name began to spread beyond the borders of West Prussia. In 1622, a merchant named Hans Kanick was documented in the city of Gdansk (formerly known as Danzig), which was a major trading hub at the time.
The Kanick surname also appeared in various historical records throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1756, a farmer named Wilhelm Kanick was listed in the land registry of the village of Stargard, located in the Pomeranian region. Additionally, a soldier named Johann Kanick served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the Kanick surname include:
1. Friedrich Kanick (1785-1861), a German philosopher and professor at the University of Berlin.
2. Elise Kanick (1822-1897), a German-born painter known for her landscapes and portraits.
3. Karl Kanick (1867-1932), a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
4. Gerhard Kanick (1901-1976), a German-American physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics.
5. Ingrid Kanick (1932-2018), a German-born writer and journalist who published several novels and memoirs.
While the Kanick surname is not as common as some other German or Prussian names, it has a rich history that can be traced back several centuries to the region of West Prussia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kanick
Among Census respondents with the surname Kanick, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kanick 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 Kanick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.8% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 3
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kanick
Kanick 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
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+13 bearers (+12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.6%) | Up 12,206 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 Kanick 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 | #157,234 | #145,028 | 7.8% |
| Count | 103 | 116 | 12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 29.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kanick bearers went from 103 to 116 (+12.6% change). The surname moved up 12,206 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #145,028.
FAQ
Kanick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kanick?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Kanick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Kanick?
Kanick ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Kanick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Kanick.
Has Kanick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kanick went from 103 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 13 (+12.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Kanick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kanick, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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 Kanick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kanick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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 Kanick (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 Kanick mean?
Polish variant of a German surname referring to a person from Konitz or Kanitz. 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 Kanick (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 are called Kanick?
See how many people have the last name Kanick on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.