2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Karales
An occupational surname derived from the Greek word for "caravel," meaning a small merchant ship.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Karales. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karales 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Karales in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karales, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karales
The surname Karales is believed to have originated in Greece, with records dating back to the late 15th century. It is derived from the Greek word "karalos," meaning "strong" or "robust." The name likely originated in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece, where it was commonly found among the local population.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karales can be found in a manuscript from the island of Crete, dated around 1480. This document lists a merchant named Nikolaos Karales, who was involved in the trade of spices and textiles between Crete and Venice.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in various records and documents from the Greek mainland, particularly in the regions of Laconia and Messenia. A notable figure from this time was Georgios Karales, a scholar and philosopher who lived from 1520 to 1589. He was known for his writings on ancient Greek philosophy and his translations of works by Plato and Aristotle.
During the 17th century, the Karales family spread to other parts of the Greek world, with members settling in the Ionian Islands and parts of the Ottoman Empire. One prominent figure from this period was Alexandros Karales, a merchant and ship owner who was born in Chios in 1644. He played a significant role in the maritime trade between the Greek islands and the ports of the Mediterranean.
As the Greek diaspora grew in the 19th century, the name Karales began to appear in various parts of the world. Nikolaos Karales, born in 1802 in Crete, was a notable figure in the Greek community of Trieste, Italy, where he was a successful businessman and philanthropist.
In more recent times, the surname Karales has been carried by several notable individuals, including Ioannis Karales, a Greek poet and novelist born in 1923, and Georgios Karales, a Greek-American aerospace engineer who was instrumental in the development of the Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karales
Among Census respondents with the surname Karales, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Karales 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 Karales surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 8
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karales
Karales 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,791 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-7 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,738 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 12,791 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 3,738 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 Karales 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 | #151,532 | #155,270 | -2.5% |
| Count | 108 | 101 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karales bearers went from 108 to 101 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 3,738 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #155,270.
FAQ
Karales surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karales?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Karales. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Karales?
Karales ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Karales. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Karales.
Has Karales become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karales went from 108 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Karales?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karales, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Karales in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karales appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Hispanic (7.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Karales (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 Karales mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Greek word for "caravel," meaning a small merchant ship. 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 Karales (0.03 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 have the last name Karales?
Find out how many people have the last name Karales on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.