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

Kare, 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 Kare surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kare in America

Kare is the 109758th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kare surname appeared 161 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kare.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kare 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 Kare

The surname KARE has its origins in Norway, dating back to the 9th century. It is derived from the Old Norse word "kárr," meaning "curved" or "bent," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone with a physical characteristic or occupation related to that description.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KARE can be found in the Landnámabók, an Icelandic manuscript from the late 12th century, which mentions a Norwegian settler named Kári Solmundarson. This suggests that the name was already established in Scandinavia during the Viking Age.

The name KARE also appears in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Here, it is recorded as "Carre," likely an adaptation of the Norse name to the Norman-French spelling conventions of the time.

In the 13th century, a Norwegian chieftain named Kåre Erlingsson is mentioned in the Saga of Håkon Håkonsson, a historical account of the reign of King Håkon IV of Norway. Erlingsson played a significant role in the conflicts between the Birkebeiner and Bagler factions during the Norwegian civil war of the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

Another notable figure bearing the KARE surname was Kåre Lyder Rahbek (1760-1830), a Danish playwright, literary critic, and editor who co-founded the influential literary journal "Minerva" and played a pivotal role in the Danish Golden Age of literature.

In the 20th century, Kåre Valebrokk (1919-1995), a Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II, became a prominent figure. He was awarded the War Cross with Sword for his bravery in sabotaging German military operations and assisting Allied forces.

The name KARE has also been associated with various place names in Scandinavia, such as Kåreholm in Sweden and Kåre in Norway, further reflecting its deep roots in the region.

While the surname KARE has evolved and spread across different countries, its origins can be traced back to the Viking Age in Norway, where it likely originated as a descriptive name or a reference to an occupation or physical characteristic.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kare

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

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

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

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