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

Karloff, 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 Karloff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Karloff in America

Karloff is the 152628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Karloff surname appeared 107 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 Karloff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Karloff 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 Karloff

The surname Karloff originates from the Slavic word "karla", meaning "little" or "small". It is primarily a Russian surname that can be traced back to the late 15th century in the regions around Moscow and St. Petersburg. The name likely evolved from a nickname or a diminutive form of the name Karl, which was a popular Christian name in medieval Russia.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Karloff surname appeared in various Russian census records and land ownership documents. It was particularly prevalent among the lower nobility and merchant classes in the cities of Novgorod and Pskov. One notable early bearer of the name was Ivan Karloff, a merchant from Pskov who was recorded in a trade register from 1587.

The earliest known instance of the Karloff surname outside of Russia dates back to the late 18th century, when a family bearing the name migrated to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This branch of the Karloff family settled in the region of Galicia, now part of modern-day Ukraine and Poland. Historical records from this period indicate that the name was sometimes spelled as "Karlov" or "Karlow".

In the 19th century, several Karloff families emigrated from Eastern Europe to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada. One of the most famous bearers of the name was the actor William Henry Pratt (1887-1969), who was born in London and later adopted the stage name Boris Karloff. He is best known for his iconic portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film adaptation of the novel.

Other notable individuals with the Karloff surname include:

1. Sergei Karloff (1892-1965), a Russian-born American artist and set designer who worked in Hollywood.
2. Nadezhda Karloff (1910-1992), a Russian-American ballet dancer and choreographer.
3. Yevgeny Karloff (1918-2005), a Soviet military officer and World War II veteran.
4. Ivan Karloff (1927-2012), a Russian-American aerospace engineer who worked for NASA.
5. Dmitri Karloff (1961-present), a Russian-born American writer and historian.

Overall, the Karloff surname has a rich history that spans several centuries and multiple countries, reflecting the diverse cultural influences that have shaped its evolution and geographical distribution.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Karloff

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

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

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

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