2000
#10,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,671
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Kaul
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Germanic element "kuoni," meaning "bold, daring."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,621 Americans carry the last name Kaul. That puts it at #9,790 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,657 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaul 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kaul with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 94,657
Census rank
#9,790
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,158 bearers of the surname Kaul in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9790th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaul, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (42.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaul
The surname Kaul is of Indian origin, specifically from the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including present-day India and Pakistan. It is believed to have its roots in the Sanskrit language and can be traced back to ancient times.
The name Kaul is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "Kulina," which refers to a person of noble or distinguished lineage. It is closely associated with the Kashmiri Pandit community, a Hindu Brahmin caste from the Kashmir Valley. The Kauls were traditionally scholars, priests, and intellectuals known for their knowledge and expertise in various fields, including religion, philosophy, and astrology.
Historical records suggest that the Kaul surname was prominent in Kashmir as early as the 8th century CE. References to the Kaul family can be found in various ancient texts and manuscripts, such as the Rajatarangini, a historical chronicle of the Kashmir Valley written in the 12th century by Kalhana.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Kaul was Anandavardhana Kaul, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and literary theorist who lived in the 9th century CE. He is best known for his work "Dhvanyaloka," a seminal text on the theory of poetic suggestion (dhvani).
Another notable figure was Abhinava Gupta Kaul (c. 950 - 1016 CE), a celebrated Hindu philosopher, mystic, and scholar. He made significant contributions to the fields of aesthetics, philosophy, and tantric traditions. His works, such as the Tantraloka and the Parātrīśikā-vivaraṇa, are highly regarded in Hindu thought.
In the 16th century, Jonaraja Kaul (c. 1459 - 1532 CE) was a prominent Kashmiri historian and author of the Dvitīyā Rājataraṅginī, a continuation of Kalhana's Rajatarangini, chronicling the history of Kashmir from the 13th to the 15th century.
The Kaul surname is also associated with several place names in Kashmir, such as Kaul Kadal, a historic neighborhood in Srinagar, and Kaul Brahman, a village in the Baramulla district.
Throughout history, the Kaul surname has been carried by many accomplished individuals, including writers, poets, scholars, and artists. Prominent figures include Motilal Kaul (1894 - 1990), an Indian poet and writer who contributed significantly to Kashmiri literature, and Satish Kaul (1934 - 2018), a renowned Indian painter and sculptor known for his vibrant and expressive works.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaul
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaul, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (42.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaul 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 Kaul surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.6% · 1,629
- Asian and Pacific Islander42.1% · 1,329
- Two or more races3.3% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 62
- Black or African American0.7% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaul
Kaul 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
#8,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,128
+1,457 bearers (+54.5%)
Per 100,000 1.40
Rank movement Up 2,917 places
2020
#9,790
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,158
-970 bearers (-23.5%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 1,774 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,933 | 2,671 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,016 | 4,128 | 1.40 | +1,457 bearers (+54.5%) | Up 2,917 places |
| 2020 | #9,790 | 3,158 | 1.06 | -970 bearers (-23.5%) | Down 1,774 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 Kaul 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 | #8,016 | #9,790 | -22.1% |
| Count | 4,128 | 3,158 | -23.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.40 | 1.06 | -24.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaul bearers went from 4,128 to 3,158 (-23.5% change). The surname moved down 1,774 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,016 to #9,790.
FAQ
Kaul surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaul?
Name Census estimates that about 3,621 living Americans carry the surname Kaul. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,657 residents.
How common is Kaul?
Kaul ranks #9,790 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 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 3,158 people with the surname Kaul. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,621), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 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 Kaul.
Has Kaul become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaul went from 4,128 recorded bearers to 3,158. That is a decrease of 970 (-23.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,016 to #9,790.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaul?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaul, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (42.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Kaul in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.6% (1,629 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaul appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (42.1%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Kaul (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 Kaul mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Germanic element "kuoni," meaning "bold, daring." 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 Kaul (1.06 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 Kaul?
Find out how many people have the last name Kaul on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.