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

Kaplan, 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 Kaplan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kaplan in America

Kaplan is the 1196th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kaplan surname appeared 29,582 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Kaplan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kaplan 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 Kaplan

The surname Kaplan originated in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, primarily in Poland and Russia. Its roots can be traced back to the Hebrew word "Kohen," which refers to members of the priestly class descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many Jewish communities in Eastern Europe were required to adopt surnames for official records and taxation purposes. The name Kaplan, derived from the German word "Kaplan" meaning "chaplain" or "priest," was commonly adopted by those of Kohen descent.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaplan can be found in the 1784 census of the Minsk Governorate (now part of Belarus), where several families with the surname Kaplan were listed. It is likely that these families had adopted the name in response to the Russian Empire's decree requiring Jews to take surnames.

In the 19th century, as Jewish communities in Eastern Europe faced increasing persecution and economic hardship, many Kaplans immigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas, contributing to the global spread of the surname.

Notable historical figures with the surname Kaplan include:

1. Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983), a Lithuanian-born American rabbi and philosopher who founded the Reconstructionist movement in Judaism.
2. Golda Kaplan (later Meir) (1898-1978), an Israeli politician and teacher who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974.
3. Abraham Kaplan (1918-1993), an American philosopher and educator who made significant contributions to the field of philosophy of science.
4. Irving Kaplan (1902-1969), an American mobster and associate of Meyer Lansky, known for his involvement in the National Crime Syndicate.
5. Anatole Kaplan (1835-1919), a Russian-born American artist and painter who is renowned for his landscapes and seascapes.

While the surname Kaplan has its roots in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, it has since become a prominent name across various cultures and regions, reflecting the global diaspora of Jewish populations and the assimilation of the name into various societies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kaplan

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

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

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

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