2000
#8,431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,601
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Kiss
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a nickname or from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,165 Americans carry the last name Kiss. That puts it at #8,670 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,294 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kiss 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 Kiss with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 82,294
Census rank
#8,670
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,632 bearers of the surname Kiss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8670th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kiss
The surname Kiss is of Hungarian origin, deriving from the medieval Hungarian word "kis" meaning "small" or "little". It is believed to have originated as a nickname or descriptive name for someone of diminutive stature or young age in the 13th or 14th century.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Kiss can be found in medieval Hungarian documents and records from the 15th century. One notable example is a mention of a certain Jakab Kiss in a 1458 charter from the town of Szeged.
In the 16th century, the surname Kiss began to spread beyond Hungary to other parts of Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in areas with significant Hungarian populations or influence, such as parts of modern-day Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia.
The name Kiss is also found in various forms and spellings in historical records, including Kys, Kyss, and Kisch. These variations likely arose due to differences in regional dialects and the transcription of the name by scribes and record-keepers.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname Kiss. One early example is the Hungarian poet and writer Mihály Vörösmarty Kiss (1800-1855), who played a significant role in the Hungarian Renaissance literary movement.
Another prominent figure was the Hungarian-American engineer and physicist Theodore von Kármán (1881-1963), whose original surname was Kiss before he was ennobled and adopted the "von Kármán" name.
In the 19th century, the Kiss surname gained recognition through the work of the Hungarian composer and pianist Ernő Kiss (1799-1849), who composed numerous piano works and other pieces.
The 20th century saw the rise of the American artist and sculptor August Kiss (1911-1997), whose abstract steel sculptures can be found in various public spaces and museums across the United States.
More recently, the surname Kiss has been associated with the American rock band KISS, formed in 1973 and known for their distinctive stage persona and makeup. The band's co-founders, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, both bear the surname Kiss, though it is not their original family name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kiss
Among Census respondents with the surname Kiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Kiss 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 Kiss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 3,316
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 182
- Two or more races2.1% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 30
- Black or African American0.7% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kiss
Kiss 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
#8,305
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,990
+389 bearers (+10.8%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Up 126 places
2020
#8,670
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,632
-358 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 365 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,431 | 3,601 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,305 | 3,990 | 1.35 | +389 bearers (+10.8%) | Up 126 places |
| 2020 | #8,670 | 3,632 | 1.22 | -358 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 365 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 Kiss 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 | #8,305 | #8,670 | -4.4% |
| Count | 3,990 | 3,632 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.35 | 1.22 | -10.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kiss bearers went from 3,990 to 3,632 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 365 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,305 to #8,670.
FAQ
Kiss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kiss?
Name Census estimates that about 4,165 living Americans carry the surname Kiss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,294 residents.
How common is Kiss?
Kiss ranks #8,670 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.22 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 3,632 people with the surname Kiss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,165), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.22 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 Kiss.
Has Kiss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kiss went from 3,990 recorded bearers to 3,632. That is a decrease of 358 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,305 to #8,670.
What does the Census say about the background of Kiss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Kiss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (3,316 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kiss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (5.0%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Kiss (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 Kiss mean?
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a nickname or from a place name. 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 Kiss (1.22 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 have the surname Kiss?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.