Find out how popular the last name Kinder is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kinder.

Kinder, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kinder surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kinder in America

Kinder is the 3391st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kinder surname appeared 10,539 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Kinder.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kinder to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kinder

The surname Kinder originated in Germany, derived from the German word "Kind" meaning "child". This name was likely first used as a nickname for someone who was young or childlike in appearance or behavior. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Johannes Kinder, a merchant who lived in the city of Cologne in the late 14th century. Records from this time period show that he was involved in the trade of textiles and spices. Another early mention of the name can be found in the 1437 tax records of the town of Esslingen, which list a Jakob Kinder as a resident.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Kinder name began to spread beyond Germany, with some families migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. In 1583, a man named Hans Kinder was recorded as living in the town of Strasbourg, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire.

One notable bearer of the Kinder surname was Johann Kinder, a German composer and organist who lived from 1592 to 1668. He is known for his contributions to the development of the Protestant church music tradition in Germany.

In England, the Kinder name can be traced back to the 17th century, likely brought over by German immigrants. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Richard Kinder, who was born in London in 1624. He later became a successful merchant and was involved in the trade of goods between England and the Netherlands.

Another individual of note was Johann Wolfgang Kinder, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1715 to 1788. He was a prominent figure of the Enlightenment period and wrote extensively on topics such as ethics, politics, and aesthetics.

During the 19th century, the Kinder surname continued to spread throughout various parts of Europe and the Americas, with many families settling in areas such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kinder

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kinder.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kinder was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kinder has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kinder was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kinder, please contact us.

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