2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kleinwachter
A German surname meaning "small watchman" or "little guard".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Kleinwachter. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kleinwachter 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Kleinwachter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleinwachter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kleinwachter
The surname Kleinwachter originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the German words "klein" meaning "small" and "wachter" meaning "watchman" or "guard." It likely referred to a person who served as a night watchman or guard, perhaps in a small village or town.
The name Kleinwachter first appeared in historical records in the region of Bavaria, particularly in the areas around the cities of Munich and Nuremberg. It was also found in other parts of southern Germany, such as the Black Forest region and the areas bordering Switzerland and Austria.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kleinwachter was Hans Kleinwachter, a blacksmith from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, who lived in the late 16th century. Another notable early bearer of the name was Johann Kleinwachter, a Protestant theologian and scholar who was born in Nuremberg in 1633 and died in 1688.
In the 18th century, the name Kleinwachter appeared in various church and civil records throughout Germany. For example, Johann Friedrich Kleinwachter, a composer and organist, was born in Meissen, Saxony, in 1736 and died in 1820.
The 19th century saw several notable individuals with the surname Kleinwachter. One was Friedrich Kleinwachter, a German jurist and legal scholar who was born in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) in 1838 and died in 1927. Another was Theodor Kleinwachter, a German actor and theatre director who lived from 1840 to 1904.
Over time, the name Kleinwachter spread beyond Germany to other parts of Europe and eventually to other continents through emigration. For instance, Franz Kleinwachter was an Austrian-born architect who lived from 1838 to 1921 and worked primarily in the United States, designing several notable buildings in New York City.
While the name Kleinwachter has its roots in medieval Germany, it has since become a surname found in various parts of the world, carried by individuals with diverse backgrounds and professions, all tracing their lineage back to the small watchmen and guards of bygone eras.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kleinwachter
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleinwachter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kleinwachter 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 Kleinwachter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 105
- Two or more races6.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kleinwachter
Kleinwachter 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+8 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,151 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,441 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.8%) | Down 1,151 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 1,441 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 Kleinwachter 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 | #149,395 | #147,954 | 1.0% |
| Count | 110 | 112 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kleinwachter bearers went from 110 to 112 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 1,441 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #147,954.
FAQ
Kleinwachter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kleinwachter?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Kleinwachter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Kleinwachter?
Kleinwachter ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Kleinwachter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Kleinwachter.
Has Kleinwachter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kleinwachter went from 110 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 2 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Kleinwachter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleinwachter, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Kleinwachter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kleinwachter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Kleinwachter (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 Kleinwachter mean?
A German surname meaning "small watchman" or "little guard". 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 Kleinwachter (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 Kleinwachter?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Kleinwachter, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.