2000
#18,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,358
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.50
Rare Last name
Karg
A German surname derived from the word "karg" meaning "meager" or "barren".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,358 Americans carry the last name Karg. That puts it at #22,298 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 252,396 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karg 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
1.4K
1 in 252,396
Census rank
#22,298
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,184 bearers of the surname Karg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22298th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karg
The surname KARG has its origins in Germany and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "karc," which means "frugal" or "stingy." This occupational name was likely given to someone who was considered frugal or miserly.
The earliest recorded instances of the name KARG can be found in various German historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, a certain Rudiger Karg was mentioned in a land deed from the town of Nuremberg in 1295. Another early bearer of the name was Kunz Karg, a merchant from the city of Augsburg who is mentioned in municipal records from 1347.
During the 15th century, the name KARG appeared in several German-language manuscripts and chronicles. One notable example is the "Chronica de gestis principum" (Chronicle of the Deeds of Princes), written by the Bavarian historian Andreas von Regensburg in 1428, which mentions a knight named Hans Karg.
In the 16th century, the surname KARG was found in several places throughout southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Swabia. One of the earliest known bearers of the name from this period was Matthias Karg, a Protestant reformer and theologian from Nuremberg who lived from 1504 to 1565.
Other notable individuals with the surname KARG throughout history include Johann Baptist Karg (1738-1811), a German Catholic priest and writer from Bavaria, and Karl Friedrich Karg (1770-1835), a German jurist and legal scholar from Saxony. In the 19th century, the name was also borne by the German painter Friedrich Karg (1824-1889) and the Austrian composer and conductor Ferdinand Karg-Elert (1877-1933).
The surname KARG has also been found in various place names throughout Germany, such as the town of Karg in Bavaria and the village of Kargau in Baden-Württemberg. These place names likely derived from individuals who bore the surname KARG and were among the earliest settlers or landowners in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karg
Among Census respondents with the surname Karg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Karg 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 Karg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,095
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 43
- Two or more races2.2% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 11
- Black or African American0.8% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karg
Karg 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
#21,105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,244
-114 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Down 2,412 places
2020
#22,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,184
-60 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 1,193 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,693 | 1,358 | 0.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,105 | 1,244 | 0.42 | -114 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 2,412 places |
| 2020 | #22,298 | 1,184 | 0.40 | -60 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 1,193 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 Karg 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 | #21,105 | #22,298 | -5.7% |
| Count | 1,244 | 1,184 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.42 | 0.40 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karg bearers went from 1,244 to 1,184 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 1,193 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,105 to #22,298.
FAQ
Karg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karg?
Name Census estimates that about 1,358 living Americans carry the surname Karg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 252,396 residents.
How common is Karg?
Karg ranks #22,298 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.40 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 1,184 people with the surname Karg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,358), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.40 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 Karg.
Has Karg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karg went from 1,244 recorded bearers to 1,184. That is a decrease of 60 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,105 to #22,298.
What does the Census say about the background of Karg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Karg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,095 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Karg (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 Karg mean?
A German surname derived from the word "karg" meaning "meager" or "barren". 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 Karg (0.40 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 common is the surname Karg?
See how common the surname Karg is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.