2000
#16,074
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,656
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.61
Rare Last name
Kinsler
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Kyntzel's settlement" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,936 Americans carry the last name Kinsler. That puts it at #16,520 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 177,043 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kinsler 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
1.9K
1 in 177,043
Census rank
#16,520
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,688 bearers of the surname Kinsler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16520th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinsler, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kinsler
The surname Kinsler originated in Germany, likely during the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the medieval German word "Kindes-ler," which translates to "child's teacher" or "tutor." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational surname to someone who served as a tutor or educator of children.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name was spelled as "Kindsler" or "Kindesler" in various German regions. Some of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in church records and municipal archives from areas such as Bavaria and Saxony.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Kindsler, a schoolmaster who lived in the town of Nuremberg in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Hans Kinsler, a prominent merchant and trader who resided in the city of Hamburg during the 16th century.
As the name spread across different regions of Germany, it underwent various spelling variations, including "Kinsler," "Kinssler," and "Kinszler." These variations were often influenced by local dialects and phonetic adaptations.
In the 17th century, the name Kinsler began to appear in records beyond Germany, as some families emigrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. For instance, Johan Kinsler, born in 1632, was among the early German settlers who established a community in what is now Pennsylvania, United States.
Another notable bearer of the Kinsler name was Friedrich Kinsler, a German philosopher and academic who lived in the late 18th century. He was widely respected for his contributions to the field of ethics and moral philosophy.
Throughout its history, the surname Kinsler has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, tradesmen, artisans, and professionals. While the name may have originated from an occupational descriptor, it has since become a well-established surname with a rich heritage spanning multiple centuries and regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kinsler
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinsler, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kinsler 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 Kinsler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.4% · 1,189
- Black or African American21.7% · 366
- Two or more races4.6% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kinsler
Kinsler 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
#12,715
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,428
+772 bearers (+46.6%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 3,359 places
2020
#16,520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,688
-740 bearers (-30.5%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Down 3,805 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,074 | 1,656 | 0.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,715 | 2,428 | 0.82 | +772 bearers (+46.6%) | Up 3,359 places |
| 2020 | #16,520 | 1,688 | 0.56 | -740 bearers (-30.5%) | Down 3,805 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 Kinsler 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 | #12,715 | #16,520 | -29.9% |
| Count | 2,428 | 1,688 | -30.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.56 | -31.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kinsler bearers went from 2,428 to 1,688 (-30.5% change). The surname moved down 3,805 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,715 to #16,520.
FAQ
Kinsler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kinsler?
Name Census estimates that about 1,936 living Americans carry the surname Kinsler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 177,043 residents.
How common is Kinsler?
Kinsler ranks #16,520 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.56 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 1,688 people with the surname Kinsler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,936), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.56 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 Kinsler.
Has Kinsler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kinsler went from 2,428 recorded bearers to 1,688. That is a decrease of 740 (-30.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,715 to #16,520.
What does the Census say about the background of Kinsler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kinsler, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kinsler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.4% (1,189 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kinsler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.4%), Black (21.7%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Kinsler (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 Kinsler mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Kyntzel's settlement" in Old English. 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 Kinsler (0.56 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 Kinsler?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.