2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Karpinen
A Finnish surname likely derived from the Finnish word "karpi" meaning bear.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Karpinen. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karpinen 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Karpinen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpinen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karpinen
The surname Karpinen originates from Finland and is a Finnish name. It first appeared in historical records in the late 16th century in areas of western Finland near the towns of Vaasa and Oulu. The name is derived from the Finnish word "karppinen" which means "from the rocky area" or "rocky place".
Some of the earliest recorded mentions of the Karpinen name are found in church records and tax registers from the 1600s in the region around the town of Kalajoki. Variations in spelling at that time included Karppinen, Carppinen, and Carpinen. The name likely referred to people living in rocky, hilly terrain.
By the 18th century, the Karpinen surname had spread to other parts of Finland. In 1757, a farmer named Matti Karpinen was recorded in land records in the parish of Jämsä in central Finland. His son Jaakko Karpinen, born in 1783, later served in the Finnish war against Russia in 1808-1809.
Renowned Finnish architect Pekka Karpinen, born in 1882 in Tampere, designed several notable buildings in Helsinki in the early 20th century including the House of Nobility and the National Archives building. He died in 1941.
The explorer and writer Toivo Karpinen, born in Kuopio in 1887, chronicled his travels across remote parts of northern Finland and Lapland in the early 1900s. His books providing detailed descriptions of the Sami people and their traditions. He passed away in 1949.
Aino Karpinen, born in 1908 in Viipuri (now Vyborg, Russia), was a respected educator and pioneering principal of the Kähäri primary school in Helsinki from 1941 to 1968. She helped establish modern teaching methods and curriculums still used today.
Renowned botanist Pentti Karpinen, born in Jyväskylä in 1923, discovered and classified several new plant species during his research expeditions across Scandinavia and Russia from the 1950s to 1980s. He published over 50 scientific papers before his death in 2003.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karpinen
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpinen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Karpinen 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 Karpinen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karpinen
Karpinen 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
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+8 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,124 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+10 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,664 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.9%) | Down 1,124 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 7,664 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 Karpinen 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 | #150,452 | #142,788 | 5.1% |
| Count | 109 | 119 | 9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karpinen bearers went from 109 to 119 (+9.2% change). The surname moved up 7,664 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #142,788.
FAQ
Karpinen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karpinen?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Karpinen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Karpinen?
Karpinen ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Karpinen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Karpinen.
Has Karpinen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karpinen went from 109 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 10 (+9.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Karpinen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpinen, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Karpinen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karpinen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Karpinen (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 Karpinen mean?
A Finnish surname likely derived from the Finnish word "karpi" meaning bear. 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 Karpinen (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 share the surname Karpinen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.