2000
#13,596
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,048
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Karlin
A habitational surname derived from any of several places named Karlin, likely meaning "Carl's settlement" in German or Swedish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,144 Americans carry the last name Karlin. That puts it at #15,135 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 159,867 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karlin 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
2.1K
1 in 159,867
Census rank
#15,135
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,870 bearers of the surname Karlin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15135th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karlin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karlin
Among Census respondents with the surname Karlin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Karlin 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 Karlin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 1,740
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 63
- Two or more races2.0% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- Black or African American0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karlin
Karlin 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
#12,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,493
+445 bearers (+21.7%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 1,144 places
2020
#15,135
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,870
-623 bearers (-25.0%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 2,683 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,596 | 2,048 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,452 | 2,493 | 0.85 | +445 bearers (+21.7%) | Up 1,144 places |
| 2020 | #15,135 | 1,870 | 0.63 | -623 bearers (-25.0%) | Down 2,683 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 Karlin 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 | #12,452 | #15,135 | -21.5% |
| Count | 2,493 | 1,870 | -25.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.63 | -26.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karlin bearers went from 2,493 to 1,870 (-25.0% change). The surname moved down 2,683 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,452 to #15,135.
FAQ
Karlin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karlin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,144 living Americans carry the surname Karlin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 159,867 residents.
How common is Karlin?
Karlin ranks #15,135 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,870 people with the surname Karlin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,144), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Karlin.
Has Karlin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karlin went from 2,493 recorded bearers to 1,870. That is a decrease of 623 (-25.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,452 to #15,135.
What does the Census say about the background of Karlin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karlin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Karlin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,740 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karlin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Karlin (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 Karlin mean?
A habitational surname derived from any of several places named Karlin, likely meaning "Carl's settlement" in German or Swedish. 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 Karlin (0.63 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 are called Karlin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Karlin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.