2000
#14,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,898
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Kaspar
Derived from the Persian name Caspar, meaning "treasurer" or "treasure bearer," and popularized by one of the Biblical Magi.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,115 Americans carry the last name Kaspar. That puts it at #15,324 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,059 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaspar 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 162,059
Census rank
#15,324
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,844 bearers of the surname Kaspar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15324th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaspar, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaspar
The surname Kaspar has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the early Middle Ages, around the 9th or 10th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Kaspar, which itself comes from the Persian name Casper or Gaspar, one of the three Biblical Magi or Wise Men who visited the newborn Jesus.
The name Kaspar likely spread across various German regions during the medieval period, giving rise to regional variations in spelling such as Kasper, Casper, and Gaspar. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval German documents and records, although it is difficult to pinpoint the specific earliest known bearer of the surname.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johannes Kaspar, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1549 in Grunberg, Silesia (now Zielona Gora, Poland). He made significant contributions to the study of comets and planetary motions.
The surname Kaspar has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history, such as Kaspar Hauser (1812-1833), a German youth who famously claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. His mysterious origins and eventual murder in Ansbach, Germany, captured public imagination and inspired numerous literary works.
Another bearer of the name was Walter Kaspar (1892-1989), a German general who served in both World Wars and was known for his role in the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. On the literary front, Hans Kaspar (1924-2019) was a prominent Swiss author and playwright renowned for his works exploring themes of identity and human existence.
In the realm of science, the name Kaspar is associated with Johannes Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801), a Swiss poet, philosopher, and renowned pioneer in the study of physiognomy, the practice of judging human character from facial features.
While the surname Kaspar is primarily of German origin, it has also been adopted and used in various other European countries over the centuries, reflecting the historical migration patterns and cultural exchanges between different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaspar
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaspar, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaspar 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 Kaspar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 1,659
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 78
- Two or more races3.1% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 36
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaspar
Kaspar 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
#15,099
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,954
+56 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 667 places
2020
#15,324
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,844
-110 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 225 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,432 | 1,898 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,099 | 1,954 | 0.66 | +56 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 667 places |
| 2020 | #15,324 | 1,844 | 0.62 | -110 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 225 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 Kaspar 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 | #15,099 | #15,324 | -1.5% |
| Count | 1,954 | 1,844 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.62 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaspar bearers went from 1,954 to 1,844 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 225 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,099 to #15,324.
FAQ
Kaspar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaspar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,115 living Americans carry the surname Kaspar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,059 residents.
How common is Kaspar?
Kaspar ranks #15,324 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,844 people with the surname Kaspar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Kaspar.
Has Kaspar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaspar went from 1,954 recorded bearers to 1,844. That is a decrease of 110 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,099 to #15,324.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaspar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaspar, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kaspar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (1,659 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaspar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kaspar (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 Kaspar mean?
Derived from the Persian name Caspar, meaning "treasurer" or "treasure bearer," and popularized by one of the Biblical Magi. 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 Kaspar (0.62 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 Americans have the surname Kaspar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.