2000
#8,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,645
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.35
Rare Last name
Klassen
A Dutch and German occupational surname referring to a sexton, churchwarden, or custodian of a village church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,697 Americans carry the last name Klassen. That puts it at #7,773 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 72,973 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Klassen 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
4.7K
1 in 72,973
Census rank
#7,773
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,096 bearers of the surname Klassen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7773rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Klassen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Klassen
The surname Klassen is of German origin, deriving from the Low German word "klas" or "klaas," which was a diminutive form of the personal name Nicholas. The name can be traced back to the 14th century in parts of northern Germany and the Netherlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Klassen appears in a 1387 census record from the city of Hamburg, where a certain Claus Klassen is listed as a merchant. In the 15th century, there are records of a Hinrich Klassen who was a landowner in the region of East Frisia, near the modern-day border between Germany and the Netherlands.
Variations of the spelling, such as Klaasen, Claassen, and Claasen, were common in different areas of northern Germany and the Low Countries during the medieval and early modern periods. The name was also sometimes associated with specific place names, such as Klaasen von Emden or Klassen van Leeuwarden.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Klassen was Pieter Klassen (c. 1505-1580), a Dutch Anabaptist leader who was active in the northern Netherlands during the Reformation. He was a follower of Menno Simons and helped establish Mennonite communities in Friesland and Groningen.
Another historical figure with the name was Johann Klassen (1684-1751), a German composer and organist who was born in Nuremberg and worked in various churches and courts in Germany during the Baroque period.
In the 19th century, a significant number of individuals with the surname Klassen emigrated from Germany and the Netherlands to Russia, where they established Mennonite settlements in areas such as the Chortitza region and the Molotschna colony. One prominent member of these communities was Bernhard Klassen (1827-1906), a Mennonite minister and leader who played a role in the migration of Mennonites from Russia to North America in the 1870s.
Other notable individuals with the surname Klassen include Peter P. Klassen (1837-1922), a Mennonite pioneer and minister who helped establish communities in Manitoba, Canada, and Franz Klassen (1913-1989), a German-Canadian writer and journalist who worked for publications such as Der Bund and the Winnipeg Free Press.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klassen
Among Census respondents with the surname Klassen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Klassen 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 Klassen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 3,766
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 185
- Two or more races2.2% · 90
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
- Black or African American0.3% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Klassen
Klassen 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
#8,121
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,084
+439 bearers (+12.0%)
Per 100,000 1.38
Rank movement Up 227 places
2020
#7,773
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,096
+12 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Up 348 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,348 | 3,645 | 1.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,121 | 4,084 | 1.38 | +439 bearers (+12.0%) | Up 227 places |
| 2020 | #7,773 | 4,096 | 1.37 | +12 bearers (+0.3%) | Up 348 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 Klassen 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 | #8,121 | #7,773 | 4.3% |
| Count | 4,084 | 4,096 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.38 | 1.37 | -0.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Klassen bearers went from 4,084 to 4,096 (+0.3% change). The surname moved up 348 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,121 to #7,773.
FAQ
Klassen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Klassen?
Name Census estimates that about 4,697 living Americans carry the surname Klassen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 72,973 residents.
How common is Klassen?
Klassen ranks #7,773 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.37 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 4,096 people with the surname Klassen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,697), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.37 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 Klassen.
Has Klassen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Klassen went from 4,084 recorded bearers to 4,096. That is an increase of 12 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,121 to #7,773.
What does the Census say about the background of Klassen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Klassen, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Klassen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (3,766 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Klassen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (4.5%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Klassen (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 Klassen mean?
A Dutch and German occupational surname referring to a sexton, churchwarden, or custodian of a village church. 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 Klassen (1.37 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 common is the surname Klassen?
Want to know how many people have the last name Klassen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.