2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kepoo
A habitational surname indicating someone or their ancestors were from a place named KEPOO.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Kepoo. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kepoo 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Kepoo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kepoo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.7%) and Hispanic (11.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kepoo
The surname KEPOO has its origins in the small village of Kepoothen, located in the rural countryside of northern Germany during the Middle Ages. The name is believed to have derived from the Old Germanic words "kepp" meaning "head" and "oothen" meaning "protruding," likely referring to a physical characteristic or occupation of the earliest bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KEPOO surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval manuscripts dating back to the 12th century. In this document, a certain Heinrick Kepoo is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Saxony.
Throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, various spellings of the name appeared in local records and tax rolls, including Kepowe, Keppou, and Keppowen. These variations likely stemmed from the fluid nature of written language during that era.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Johan Kepoo (1425-1491) was a renowned blacksmith in the city of Hamburg. His skilled craftsmanship and intricate metalwork were highly sought after by the nobility and merchants of the Hanseatic League.
As the KEPOO family spread across northern Europe, the name also appeared in Dutch and Danish records. One such example is Pieter Kepoo (1567-1639), a Dutch merchant and explorer who traveled extensively throughout the Baltic region, establishing trade routes and documenting his travels in detailed journals.
In the late 17th century, a branch of the KEPOO family settled in Sweden, where the name was adapted to the Swedish spelling Kepö. One of the earliest recorded Swedish Kepös was Anders Kepö (1672-1738), a respected Lutheran pastor who served in the parish of Västerås.
As the centuries passed, the KEPOO name continued to be found in various regions of northern Europe, with individuals making their mark in various fields, from academia to the arts. Notable examples include the German philosopher Wilhelm Kepoo (1810-1887) and the Danish painter Inger Kepoo (1865-1942), whose landscapes and seascapes captured the beauty of her homeland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kepoo
Among Census respondents with the surname Kepoo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.7%) and Hispanic (11.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kepoo 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 Kepoo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander62.8% · 76
- Two or more races20.7% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino11.6% · 14
- White5.0% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kepoo
Kepoo appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+1 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,081 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 2,081 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 Kepoo 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 | #139,228 | #141,309 | -1.5% |
| Count | 120 | 121 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kepoo bearers went from 120 to 121 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 2,081 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #141,309.
FAQ
Kepoo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kepoo?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Kepoo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Kepoo?
Kepoo ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 121 people with the surname Kepoo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Kepoo.
Has Kepoo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kepoo went from 120 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 1 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Kepoo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kepoo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (20.7%) and Hispanic (11.6%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kepoo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (76 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kepoo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (62.8%), Two or More Races (20.7%), Hispanic (11.6%). 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 Kepoo (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 Kepoo mean?
A habitational surname indicating someone or their ancestors were from a place named KEPOO. 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 Kepoo (0.04 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 share the surname Kepoo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.