2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Karloff
English surname referring to someone from the village of Charloff (now Karlovo) in Bulgaria.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Karloff. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karloff 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Karloff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karloff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Black (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karloff
Among Census respondents with the surname Karloff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Black (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Karloff 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 Karloff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karloff
Karloff 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-17 bearers (-13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 25,442 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+11 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.7%) | Down 25,442 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 9,117 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 Karloff 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 | #152,628 | #143,511 | 6.0% |
| Count | 107 | 118 | 10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karloff bearers went from 107 to 118 (+10.3% change). The surname moved up 9,117 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #143,511.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Karloff
FAQ
Karloff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karloff?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Karloff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Karloff?
Karloff ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 118 people with the surname Karloff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Karloff.
Has Karloff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karloff went from 107 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 11 (+10.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Karloff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karloff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Karloff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karloff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (4.2%), Black (1.7%). 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 Karloff (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 Karloff mean?
English surname referring to someone from the village of Charloff (now Karlovo) in Bulgaria. 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 Karloff (0.04 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 Karloff?
Find out how many people have the surname Karloff on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.