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

Karlin, 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 Karlin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Karlin in America

Karlin is the 12452nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Karlin surname appeared 2,493 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Karlin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Karlin 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 Karlin

The surname Karlin originated in the Czech Republic, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Czech word "karla," meaning "little man" or "dwarf." It's possible that the name was initially a nickname given to someone of short stature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Karlin surname can be found in the Liber Viridis, a 16th-century manuscript containing records of Prague burghers. The name appears in various spellings, such as Karlin, Karlinek, and Karliczek, reflecting the linguistic variations of the time.

In the 17th century, the Karlin family established themselves in the town of Karlín, a district of Prague. This place name is thought to be derived from the same root as the surname, further solidifying the connection between the name and its Czech origins.

Notable individuals with the Karlin surname include:

1. Jan Karlin (1570-1629), a Czech mathematician and astronomer known for his work on trigonometry and logarithms.
2. Ludmila Karlinova (1890-1965), a Czech operatic soprano who performed at the National Theatre in Prague in the early 20th century.
3. Petr Karlin (1925-2003), a Czech-American mathematician and statistician renowned for his contributions to probability theory and stochastic processes.
4. Anna Karlinova (1892-1973), a Czech painter and illustrator who was a member of the influential Czechoslovak Union of Applied Arts.
5. Karel Karlin (1901-1988), a Czech architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the reconstruction of Prague after World War II.

As the Karlin surname spread beyond the Czech Republic, it underwent various spelling variations influenced by the languages and cultures of different regions. However, the name's core essence remains rooted in its Czech origins, reflecting the rich history and linguistic tapestry of Central Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Karlin

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!