2000
#5,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,292
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.96
Rare Last name
Kissinger
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of cushions or pillows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,289 Americans carry the last name Kissinger. That puts it at #7,022 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,805 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kissinger 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
5.3K
1 in 64,805
Census rank
#7,022
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,612 bearers of the surname Kissinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7022nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kissinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kissinger
The surname Kissinger is of German origin, derived from the German word "Küssinger," which means "people from Küssingen." Küssingen is a town in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld, Bavaria, Germany. The name likely emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century, when surnames became more common in German-speaking regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kissinger can be found in the tax records of the city of Würzburg, Germany, dating back to the 15th century. These records mention a person named Hans Kissinger, who resided in the city during that time.
The name Kissinger is also found in various historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, including church records and municipal registries from towns and villages across Bavaria and other parts of southern Germany.
One notable person with the surname Kissinger was Johann Baptist Kissinger (1592-1657), a German Catholic theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Ingolstadt. He authored several works on theology and philosophy during his lifetime.
In the 18th century, the name Kissinger appeared in various genealogical records from the region around the town of Küssingen itself, as well as neighboring areas like Bad Kissingen and Hammelburg.
Another prominent figure with the surname Kissinger was Heinrich Kissinger (1832-1901), a German-born American industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Kissinger Brick Company in St. Louis, Missouri, in the late 19th century.
Perhaps the most famous person with the surname Kissinger is Henry Alfred Kissinger (1923-present), the American diplomat and political scientist who served as the United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the Vietnam War.
Other notable individuals with the Kissinger surname include Heinz Alfred Kissinger (1923-2017), a German-American engineer and inventor, and Walter Kissinger (1915-1996), a German-born American physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kissinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Kissinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Kissinger 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 Kissinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 4,261
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 174
- Two or more races2.5% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 14
- Black or African American0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kissinger
Kissinger 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
#5,390
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,455
+1,163 bearers (+22.0%)
Per 100,000 2.19
Rank movement Up 603 places
2020
#7,022
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,612
-1,843 bearers (-28.6%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Down 1,632 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,993 | 5,292 | 1.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,390 | 6,455 | 2.19 | +1,163 bearers (+22.0%) | Up 603 places |
| 2020 | #7,022 | 4,612 | 1.54 | -1,843 bearers (-28.6%) | Down 1,632 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 Kissinger 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 | #5,390 | #7,022 | -30.3% |
| Count | 6,455 | 4,612 | -28.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.19 | 1.54 | -29.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kissinger bearers went from 6,455 to 4,612 (-28.6% change). The surname moved down 1,632 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,390 to #7,022.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kissinger
FAQ
Kissinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kissinger?
Name Census estimates that about 5,289 living Americans carry the surname Kissinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,805 residents.
How common is Kissinger?
Kissinger ranks #7,022 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,612 people with the surname Kissinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,289), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Kissinger.
Has Kissinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kissinger went from 6,455 recorded bearers to 4,612. That is a decrease of 1,843 (-28.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,390 to #7,022.
What does the Census say about the background of Kissinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kissinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Kissinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (4,261 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kissinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Kissinger (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 Kissinger mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of cushions or pillows. 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 Kissinger (1.54 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 Kissinger?
You can see how many people have the last name Kissinger on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.