2000
#12,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,218
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Ketterer
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or inspector of chains or chain mail armor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,265 Americans carry the last name Ketterer. That puts it at #14,514 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,326 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ketterer 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
2.3K
1 in 151,326
Census rank
#14,514
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,975 bearers of the surname Ketterer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14514th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ketterer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ketterer
The surname Ketterer has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is derived from the German word "Kessel," meaning "cauldron" or "kettle," and likely referred to an occupation involving metalwork or cooking.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Esslingen, near Stuttgart, in the year 1383, where a certain Hans Ketterer was mentioned in a legal document. The name also appeared in various other regions of southern Germany, such as Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, during the late medieval period.
In the 16th century, the surname Ketterer surfaced in some historical records, including a mention of a Peter Ketterer, a Protestant theologian born in Strasbourg in 1535. He was known for his work in the field of education and for his contributions to the Reformation movement.
Another notable figure with this surname was Johann Ketterer, a German composer and organist who lived from 1677 to 1727. He was based in the city of Nuremberg and is remembered for his compositions for the organ and harpsichord.
Moving into the 19th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the Ketterer name was Wilhelm Ketterer, a German-American businessman and engineer born in 1827. He immigrated to the United States in the 1850s and became known for his pioneering work in the steel industry, particularly in the development of the Bessemer process.
A more recent example is Katharina Ketterer, a German writer and journalist who was born in 1962. She has published several novels and non-fiction works, exploring themes of identity, family, and modern society.
Variations of the surname Ketterer can be found in different regions, such as Ketterer, Kettner, and Kessler, which all stem from the same root word and occupation. Additionally, some place names in Germany, like Kettersbach and Ketteritzsch, may have originated from this surname or vice versa.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ketterer
Among Census respondents with the surname Ketterer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Ketterer 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 Ketterer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 1,787
- Two or more races3.3% · 66
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 65
- Black or African American1.5% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ketterer
Ketterer 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
#11,938
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,620
+402 bearers (+18.1%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Up 829 places
2020
#14,514
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,975
-645 bearers (-24.6%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 2,576 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,767 | 2,218 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,938 | 2,620 | 0.89 | +402 bearers (+18.1%) | Up 829 places |
| 2020 | #14,514 | 1,975 | 0.66 | -645 bearers (-24.6%) | Down 2,576 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 Ketterer 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 | #11,938 | #14,514 | -21.6% |
| Count | 2,620 | 1,975 | -24.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.66 | -25.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ketterer bearers went from 2,620 to 1,975 (-24.6% change). The surname moved down 2,576 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,938 to #14,514.
FAQ
Ketterer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ketterer?
Name Census estimates that about 2,265 living Americans carry the surname Ketterer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,326 residents.
How common is Ketterer?
Ketterer ranks #14,514 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,975 people with the surname Ketterer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,265), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Ketterer.
Has Ketterer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ketterer went from 2,620 recorded bearers to 1,975. That is a decrease of 645 (-24.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,938 to #14,514.
What does the Census say about the background of Ketterer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ketterer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (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 Ketterer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (1,787 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ketterer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (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 Ketterer (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 Ketterer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or inspector of chains or chain mail armor. 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 Ketterer (0.66 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 Ketterer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.