2000
#7,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,377
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.62
Rare Last name
Kiel
A toponymic surname derived from the German city of Kiel, indicating an individual's origin or association with the place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,026 Americans carry the last name Kiel. That puts it at #7,329 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,196 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kiel 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 Kiel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.0K
1 in 68,196
Census rank
#7,329
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,383 bearers of the surname Kiel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7329th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kiel
The surname KIEL is of German origin, derived from the Old Low German word "kil," meaning "channel" or "strait." It is believed to have originated in the city of Kiel, located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, which is situated at the head of a fjord on the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname KIEL can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 13th century. The name was likely adopted by individuals who resided near or worked in proximity to the waterways and channels around the city of Kiel.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname KIEL was Johannes Kiel (c. 1550-1616), a German composer and organist who served as the director of music at the court of Gottorp in Schleswig-Holstein. His compositions for organ and choral works were widely admired during his lifetime and contributed to the development of the North German organ tradition.
Another prominent individual with the surname KIEL was Frederica Kiel (1768-1853), a German writer and poet who was born in Braunschweig. She published several collections of poetry and plays, and her work was well-received by literary circles in Germany during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In the 19th century, Carl Friedrich Kiel (1784-1857), a German painter and engraver, gained recognition for his landscapes and architectural scenes. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden and was appointed as a court painter to the King of Saxony.
The name KIEL is also associated with the city of Kiel itself, which has been an important maritime center and naval base since the Middle Ages. The city's name is derived from the Old Norse word "kil," meaning "strait" or "fjord," reflecting its geographical location at the head of the Kieler Förde, a large fjord-like bay.
During the 20th century, one notable individual with the surname KIEL was Walter Kiel (1914-1997), a German businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Kiel Group, a successful construction and real estate company based in Hamburg. He played a significant role in the reconstruction and development of many cities in Germany after World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kiel
Among Census respondents with the surname Kiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kiel 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 Kiel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 3,744
- Black or African American7.8% · 344
- Two or more races2.7% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kiel
Kiel 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
#6,583
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,146
+769 bearers (+17.6%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Up 466 places
2020
#7,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,383
-763 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Down 746 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,049 | 4,377 | 1.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,583 | 5,146 | 1.74 | +769 bearers (+17.6%) | Up 466 places |
| 2020 | #7,329 | 4,383 | 1.47 | -763 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 746 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 Kiel 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 | #6,583 | #7,329 | -11.3% |
| Count | 5,146 | 4,383 | -14.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.47 | -15.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kiel bearers went from 5,146 to 4,383 (-14.8% change). The surname moved down 746 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,583 to #7,329.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kiel
FAQ
Kiel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kiel?
Name Census estimates that about 5,026 living Americans carry the surname Kiel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,196 residents.
How common is Kiel?
Kiel ranks #7,329 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.47 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 4,383 people with the surname Kiel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,026), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.47 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 Kiel.
Has Kiel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kiel went from 5,146 recorded bearers to 4,383. That is a decrease of 763 (-14.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,583 to #7,329.
What does the Census say about the background of Kiel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (3,744 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kiel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.4%), Black (7.8%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kiel (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 Kiel mean?
A toponymic surname derived from the German city of Kiel, indicating an individual's origin or association with the place. 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 Kiel (1.47 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 Kiel?
See how many people have the surname Kiel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.