2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kindelspire
A surname suggesting German origins and possibly referring to a descendant of a child or son.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Kindelspire. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kindelspire 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Kindelspire in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kindelspire, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kindelspire
The surname Kindelspire is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany during the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "kindelein" meaning "small child" and "spier" which translates to "spear" or "lance". This suggests the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who worked as a maker or seller of small spears or lances.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kindelspire name can be found in the 1296 Osnabrück Codex, an ecclesiastical manuscript that mentions a "Johannes Kindelspiere" from the town of Osnabrück. This provides evidence that the name was already in use by the late 13th century in Lower Saxony.
By the 14th century, various spellings of the name began appearing in records across northern Germany and the Low Countries. The 1384 census rolls of Lübeck list a "Kyndelspyr" family, while a 1427 document from Bruges refers to a "Kyndelspeere" merchant.
One notable early bearer of the Kindelspire name was Henricus Kindelspier (c.1430-1492), a master gunsmith from Bremen who is credited with developing innovative techniques for casting bronze cannon. His work was highly sought after by princes and nobles across the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 16th century, a branch of the family migrated to the Netherlands where they became prosperous traders and merchants. Pieter Kindelspire (1543-1611) was a wealthy Amsterdam merchant who served as a city alderman and helped finance Dutch expeditions to the East Indies.
As the Kindelspire name spread across Europe over the centuries, it underwent various spelling changes such as Kindelspeir, Kindelspyr, Kyndelspiere and Kindelspier. Notable later bearers include Johann Kindelspier (1692-1768), a Lutheran theologian from Leipzig, and Willem Kindelspire (1805-1872), a Dutch military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kindelspire
Among Census respondents with the surname Kindelspire, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kindelspire 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 Kindelspire surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 114
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kindelspire
Kindelspire 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,271 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 680 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 6,271 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 680 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 Kindelspire 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 | #142,108 | #142,788 | -0.5% |
| Count | 117 | 119 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kindelspire bearers went from 117 to 119 (+1.7% change). The surname moved down 680 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #142,788.
FAQ
Kindelspire surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kindelspire?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Kindelspire. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Kindelspire?
Kindelspire ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Kindelspire. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Kindelspire.
Has Kindelspire become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kindelspire went from 117 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 2 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Kindelspire?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kindelspire, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Kindelspire in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kindelspire appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Kindelspire (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 Kindelspire mean?
A surname suggesting German origins and possibly referring to a descendant of a child or son. 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 Kindelspire (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 Kindelspire?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.