2000
#12,553
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,264
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Kleiman
A Jewish surname derived from the Yiddish word "kleyn," meaning "small" or "little."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,290 Americans carry the last name Kleiman. That puts it at #14,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,674 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kleiman 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
2.3K
1 in 149,674
Census rank
#14,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,997 bearers of the surname Kleiman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleiman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kleiman
The surname Kleiman originated in Germany, specifically in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia, during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic word "klein," which means "small" or "little." This word root suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname for someone of small stature or a child.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kleiman can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a person named "Henricus Kleinman" is mentioned, indicating the presence of a similar spelling variation.
The name Kleiman is also found in various historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries, such as tax rolls, court documents, and church registers. One notable example is Johann Kleiman, a merchant from Nuremberg, who is mentioned in a trade agreement from 1472.
During the 16th century, the name Kleiman began to spread across different regions of Germany, as well as to neighboring countries such as Austria and Switzerland. In the town of Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, there is a record of a family named Kleiman who owned a successful textile business in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the name Kleiman gained prominence with the birth of Johann Gottfried Kleiman (1637-1711), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. His compositions, particularly his organ works, were highly regarded during his time.
Another notable figure with the surname Kleiman was Friedrich Kleiman (1798-1873), a German physician and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of botany and zoology. He is best known for his extensive research on the flora and fauna of the Harz Mountains region.
In the 19th century, the Kleiman family established themselves in various parts of Europe, including the Netherlands, where a branch of the family settled in the city of Amsterdam. One prominent member of this Dutch branch was Pieter Kleiman (1823-1887), a successful businessman and philanthropist who founded several charitable organizations.
Other individuals with the surname Kleiman who achieved recognition in their respective fields include Hans Kleiman (1891-1964), a German-born American artist known for his modernist paintings and sculptures, and Eva Kleiman (1927-2018), a Polish-born Israeli writer and Holocaust survivor whose memoir, "Memoirs of a Warsaw Ghetto Girl," gained widespread acclaim.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kleiman
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleiman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kleiman 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 Kleiman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 1,800
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 125
- Two or more races2.0% · 39
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 21
- Black or African American0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kleiman
Kleiman 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
#10,638
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,009
+745 bearers (+32.9%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Up 1,915 places
2020
#14,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,997
-1,012 bearers (-33.6%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 3,767 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,553 | 2,264 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,638 | 3,009 | 1.02 | +745 bearers (+32.9%) | Up 1,915 places |
| 2020 | #14,405 | 1,997 | 0.67 | -1,012 bearers (-33.6%) | Down 3,767 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 Kleiman 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 | #10,638 | #14,405 | -35.4% |
| Count | 3,009 | 1,997 | -33.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.67 | -34.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kleiman bearers went from 3,009 to 1,997 (-33.6% change). The surname moved down 3,767 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,638 to #14,405.
FAQ
Kleiman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kleiman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,290 living Americans carry the surname Kleiman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,674 residents.
How common is Kleiman?
Kleiman ranks #14,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 1,997 people with the surname Kleiman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,290), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Kleiman.
Has Kleiman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kleiman went from 3,009 recorded bearers to 1,997. That is a decrease of 1,012 (-33.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,638 to #14,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Kleiman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleiman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Kleiman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (1,800 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kleiman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (6.3%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Kleiman (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 Kleiman mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the Yiddish word "kleyn," meaning "small" or "little." 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 Kleiman (0.67 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 Kleiman?
See how many people are called Kleiman on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.