Find out how popular the last name Klemme is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Klemme.

Klemme, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Klemme surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Klemme in America

Klemme is the 20937th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Klemme surname appeared 1,258 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Klemme.

We can also compare 2010 data for Klemme to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Klemme

The surname Klemme is believed to have originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "klemme," which means "a clamp" or "a clip." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname given to someone who worked as a maker or user of clamps or clips.

The earliest known record of the name Klemme can be found in the town of Merseburg, located in the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In a document dated 1327, a man named Heinrich Klemme is mentioned as a resident of the town.

Another early reference to the name Klemme appears in the Bürgersprachen, a compilation of municipal records from the city of Augsburg, Bavaria, dating back to the 15th century. Here, the name is spelled "Klemmer," which was likely a variation of the original surname.

In the 16th century, the name Klemme began to spread beyond the borders of Germany. Records show that a family bearing this surname settled in the Netherlands, where they became prominent merchants and traders. One notable member of this family was Jan Klemme, who was born in Amsterdam in 1582 and became a successful merchant dealing in textiles and spices.

As the centuries passed, the Klemme surname continued to be found across various regions of Germany. In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Klemme (1723-1795) was a noted theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Halle.

Another prominent individual with the Klemme surname was Wilhelm Klemme (1808-1876), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Prussian House of Representatives and was actively involved in the revolutionary movements of 1848.

In the 19th century, the name Klemme was also found in areas of present-day Poland, likely carried by German settlers or immigrants. One such individual was Karl Klemme (1838-1912), a Polish-German architect who designed several notable buildings in the city of Poznań.

While the surname Klemme has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, where it was likely brought by German immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Klemme

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Klemme.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Klemme was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Klemme has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Klemme was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Klemme, please contact us.

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