2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Klemin
A surname derived from a diminutive form of a Germanic personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Klemin. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Klemin 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Klemin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Klemin, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Klemin
The surname Klemin originated in Germany, where it first appeared in records from the early 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old German words "klein" meaning "small" and "mann" meaning "man," suggesting the name may have originally referred to a man of small stature or a young boy.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Klemin name can be found in the parish records of the town of Gelnhausen, in the German state of Hesse, where a Johann Klemin was listed as a resident in 1532. Another early record comes from the nearby town of Büdingen, where a Christoph Klemin was recorded as a landowner in 1547.
By the 17th century, the Klemin name had spread to other parts of Germany, with records showing families with this surname living in areas such as Saxony, Bavaria, and Prussia. One notable individual from this period was Hans Klemin, a merchant and landowner from Nuremberg who was born in 1628 and died in 1701.
As the centuries passed, the Klemin name continued to be found across Germany, with various spellings such as Klemyn, Klemin, and Klemmin appearing in different regions. In the 19th century, a prominent figure with this surname was Johann Friedrich Klemin, a German writer and philosopher who was born in 1808 and died in 1888.
Other noteworthy individuals with the Klemin surname include Karl Klemin, a German politician and member of the Reichstag who was born in 1870 and died in 1946, and Wilhelm Klemin, a German military officer who served in World War I and was born in 1879 and died in 1964.
While the Klemin name has its roots in Germany, it has also spread to other parts of the world through emigration, with families bearing this surname now found in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klemin
Among Census respondents with the surname Klemin, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Klemin 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 Klemin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 7
- Two or more races5.1% · 6
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Klemin
Klemin 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,497 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+6 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,742 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 6,497 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 3,742 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 Klemin 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 | #147,253 | #143,511 | 2.5% |
| Count | 112 | 118 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Klemin bearers went from 112 to 118 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 3,742 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #143,511.
FAQ
Klemin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Klemin?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Klemin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Klemin?
Klemin ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Klemin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Klemin.
Has Klemin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Klemin went from 112 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 6 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Klemin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Klemin, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Klemin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Klemin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Hispanic (5.9%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Klemin (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 Klemin mean?
A surname derived from a diminutive form of a Germanic personal name. 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 Klemin (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 share the surname Klemin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.