2000
#20,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,221
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.45
Rare Last name
Kellenberger
A habitational surname derived from a place name, possibly relating to a hill or cave.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,505 Americans carry the last name Kellenberger. That puts it at #20,452 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 227,744 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kellenberger 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
1.5K
1 in 227,744
Census rank
#20,452
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,312 bearers of the surname Kellenberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20452nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kellenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kellenberger
The surname Kellenberger originated in the German-speaking regions of Switzerland and southwestern Germany, likely in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is a locational surname, derived from the place name Kellenberg, which means "cellar mountain" or "cellar hill" in German. This suggests that the name may have originated with someone who lived near or on a hill or mountain with cellars or underground storage areas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland, where a Heinricus Kellenberger was mentioned in a document from 1349. The name also appears in various historical records from the nearby German regions of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria during the 15th and 16th centuries.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Kellenberger family spread across Switzerland and Germany, variations in spelling emerged, including Kellenberger, Kellenberg, Kellenburger, and Kellenburg. These different spellings reflected regional dialects and the preferences of local record-keepers.
Notable figures throughout history with the surname Kellenberger include Johann Rudolf Kellenberger (1765-1831), a Swiss politician and member of the Tagsatzung, the former federal assembly of Switzerland. Another prominent individual was Edouard Kellenberger (1888-1970), a Swiss diplomat and the first Secretary-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross, serving from 1950 to 1960.
In the 20th century, Ernst Kellenberger (1923-2004) was a Swiss mineralogist and crystallographer who made significant contributions to the study of crystal structures using X-ray diffraction techniques. Victor F. Kellenberger (1929-2014) was a Swiss businessman and philanthropist who founded the Kellenberger Group, a leading manufacturer of precision measuring instruments.
Additionally, Markus Kellenberger (born 1980) is a contemporary Swiss professional ice hockey player who has represented Switzerland in several international competitions, including the Winter Olympics and World Championships.
While the Kellenberger name has its roots in the German-speaking regions of central Europe, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage, with various spellings and pronunciations emerging in different cultural contexts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kellenberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Kellenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kellenberger 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 Kellenberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 1,198
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 62
- Two or more races3.0% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 7
- Black or African American0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kellenberger
Kellenberger 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
#21,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,251
+30 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Down 749 places
2020
#20,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,312
+61 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Up 567 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,270 | 1,221 | 0.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,019 | 1,251 | 0.42 | +30 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 749 places |
| 2020 | #20,452 | 1,312 | 0.44 | +61 bearers (+4.9%) | Up 567 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 Kellenberger 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 | #21,019 | #20,452 | 2.7% |
| Count | 1,251 | 1,312 | 4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.42 | 0.44 | 4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kellenberger bearers went from 1,251 to 1,312 (+4.9% change). The surname moved up 567 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,019 to #20,452.
FAQ
Kellenberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kellenberger?
Name Census estimates that about 1,505 living Americans carry the surname Kellenberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 227,744 residents.
How common is Kellenberger?
Kellenberger ranks #20,452 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.44 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 1,312 people with the surname Kellenberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,505), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.44 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 Kellenberger.
Has Kellenberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kellenberger went from 1,251 recorded bearers to 1,312. That is an increase of 61 (+4.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #21,019 to #20,452.
What does the Census say about the background of Kellenberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kellenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.7%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Kellenberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (1,198 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kellenberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (4.7%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Kellenberger (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 Kellenberger mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name, possibly relating to a hill or cave. 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 Kellenberger (0.44 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 Kellenberger?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.