2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kempert
Of German origin, denoting a person from Kempen, a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Kempert. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kempert 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Kempert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kempert, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kempert
The surname Kempert originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Old German word "kembart," which means "warrior with a comb-like helmet." This suggests that the name may have been given to soldiers or warriors who wore distinctive helmets adorned with comb-like protrusions.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Kempert can be found in the records of the town of Cologne, where a certain Henrich Kempert was listed as a resident in the year 1289. Another early record comes from the city of Nuremberg, where a man named Johann Kempert was recorded as a member of the local guild of tailors in 1342.
During the Middle Ages, the Kempert name appeared in various historical documents and records across German-speaking regions. For example, a man named Ulrich Kempert was mentioned in a manuscript from the Benedictine monastery of St. Gallen in Switzerland, dated 1428.
In the 16th century, the Kempert surname was found in several areas of what is now modern-day Germany. One notable figure from this period was Hans Kempert (1495-1564), a Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in the city of Zwickau.
Another famous bearer of the Kempert name was Johann Kempert (1670-1734), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
As the centuries passed, the Kempert surname continued to spread across various regions of Germany and beyond. One prominent individual was Friedrich Kempert (1819-1888), a German-born architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in St. Petersburg, Russia, including the Mikhailovsky Palace.
In the 20th century, one of the most well-known figures with the Kempert surname was Ewald Kempert (1908-1974), a German writer and journalist who served as the editor-in-chief of the influential German news magazine Der Spiegel from 1952 to 1962.
Despite its German origins, the Kempert name has also been found in other parts of Europe and even in North America, likely due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kempert
Among Census respondents with the surname Kempert, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kempert 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 Kempert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.0% · 97
- Two or more races3.0% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kempert
Kempert 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
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-6 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 17,128 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 5,705 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 17,128 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 5,705 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 Kempert 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 | #160,975 | #155,270 | 3.5% |
| Count | 100 | 101 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kempert bearers went from 100 to 101 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 5,705 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #155,270.
FAQ
Kempert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kempert?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Kempert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Kempert?
Kempert ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Kempert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Kempert.
Has Kempert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kempert went from 100 recorded bearers to 101. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Kempert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kempert, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Kempert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kempert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.0%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Kempert (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 Kempert mean?
Of German origin, denoting a person from Kempen, a place name. 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 Kempert (0.03 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 have the surname Kempert?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.