2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Klappenbach
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "shallow stream valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Klappenbach. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Klappenbach 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Klappenbach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Klappenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Klappenbach
The surname Klappenbach is of German origin, originating in the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Middle Low German words "klappen" meaning "to clap" or "to rattle," and "bach" meaning "stream" or "brook." This suggests that the name may have referred to a person who lived near a noisy or babbling brook.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Klappenbach, Klappenbeek, and Clappenbach in various historical records from the 14th to 16th centuries in regions of northern Germany and the Netherlands. One of the earliest known mentions of the name was in a land registry from the city of Lübeck, dated 1387, which listed a Henneke Klappenbach as a landowner.
The Klappenbach surname can be found in several historical documents, including the Dithmarschen Land Register of 1559, which recorded several families with this name living in the region. Additionally, a Johannes Klappenbach was mentioned in a church record from the town of Oldenburg in 1612.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the Klappenbach surname was Hans Klappenbach, a merchant and burgher of the city of Bremen, who lived from 1548 to 1622. Another notable figure was Nicolaus Klappenbach, a Lutheran minister and theologian from Rostock, who lived from 1619 to 1670.
Other historical figures bearing the Klappenbach name include Johann Klappenbach (1663-1726), a German jurist and legal scholar from Lübeck, and Friedrich Klappenbach (1738-1808), a German botanist and naturalist who studied the flora of the Baltic region.
In the 19th century, Carl Klappenbach (1809-1867) was a German architect and builder who designed several notable buildings in the city of Hamburg, including the Curiohaus and the Ringel-Brauhaus.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klappenbach
Among Census respondents with the surname Klappenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Klappenbach 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 Klappenbach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino11.1% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Klappenbach
Klappenbach 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+13 bearers (+12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,768 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-10 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,795 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.4%) | Up 3,768 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 9,795 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 Klappenbach 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 | #141,140 | #150,935 | -6.9% |
| Count | 118 | 108 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Klappenbach bearers went from 118 to 108 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 9,795 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #150,935.
FAQ
Klappenbach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Klappenbach?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Klappenbach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Klappenbach?
Klappenbach ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Klappenbach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Klappenbach.
Has Klappenbach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Klappenbach went from 118 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Klappenbach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Klappenbach, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Klappenbach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Klappenbach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Hispanic (11.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Klappenbach (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 Klappenbach mean?
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "shallow stream valley". 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 Klappenbach (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 are called Klappenbach?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Klappenbach on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.