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

Kau, 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 Kau surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kau in America

Kau is the 26534th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kau surname appeared 919 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 Kau.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kau 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 Kau

The surname Kau is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the region of Bavaria, dating back to the 16th century or earlier. It may have derived from an older Germanic word meaning "cow" or "cattle," suggesting that the name might have initially referred to someone who worked with livestock or lived near a cattle farm.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kau can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Kau was mentioned in 1583. These church records often served as vital records for births, marriages, and deaths before civil registration became widespread.

In the 17th century, the name appeared in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Saxony and Thuringia. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Kau (1613-1689), a German theologian and Protestant reformer who served as a pastor in the city of Erfurt.

During the 18th century, some individuals with the surname Kau migrated to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Poland. In the Dutch city of Leiden, a merchant named Pieter Kau (1722-1798) was a prominent figure in the local trade guild.

As Germany underwent significant political and territorial changes in the 19th century, the name Kau became more widely dispersed. One notable bearer was Karl Kau (1826-1905), a German painter and artist who specialized in landscape and genre scenes.

While the surname Kau remained relatively uncommon, it continued to appear in various parts of Germany and neighboring countries throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Other notable individuals with the name included Friedrich Kau (1859-1932), a German architect and urban planner, and Hans Kau (1888-1966), a German physicist and academic who made contributions to the field of spectroscopy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kau

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

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

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

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