2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kleoppel
A habitational name referring to someone from a place named with a Slavic word meaning "oak grove".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Kleoppel. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kleoppel 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Kleoppel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleoppel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kleoppel
The surname KLEOPPEL is of German origin, first appearing in the late 15th century in the region of Bavaria. It is believed to derive from the Old German word "klopfen," meaning "to knock" or "to rap," suggesting that the name may have originally referred to an occupation such as a woodworker or carpenter.
One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the municipal records of the town of Nürnberg, where a certain Hans Kleoppel is listed as a resident in 1492. These records provide valuable insights into the early history of the name and its geographical distribution.
In the 16th century, the name appears to have spread beyond Bavaria, with records indicating individuals bearing the KLEOPPEL surname in regions such as Saxony and Thuringia. One notable example is Johann Kleoppel, a Lutheran theologian born in Erfurt in 1548, who played a significant role in the religious debates of the Reformation era.
By the 17th century, the name had become more widely dispersed throughout German-speaking territories. In 1632, a certain Georg Kleoppel is mentioned in the chronicles of the town of Kaiserslautern, where he served as a municipal official during the tumultuous years of the Thirty Years' War.
As the centuries passed, the KLEOPPEL name continued to be associated with various professions and trades. In the 18th century, a family of Kleoppels established themselves as respected clockmakers in the town of Freiburg im Breisgau. The renowned master craftsman Hans-Peter Kleoppel (1712-1788) was particularly renowned for his intricate and precise timepieces.
Another noteworthy figure bearing the KLEOPPEL surname was the philosopher and educator Johann Friedrich Kleoppel (1763-1828), who served as the headmaster of the prestigious Gymnasium in Weimar and was a contemporary of the literary giants Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller.
Throughout its long history, the KLEOPPEL name has maintained a strong presence in various regions of Germany, with some families tracing their lineage back to the early days of its emergence. While the name may have evolved in terms of spelling variations and regional pronunciations, its origins and significance as a marker of German heritage remain intact.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kleoppel
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleoppel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kleoppel 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 Kleoppel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kleoppel
Kleoppel 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+8 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,096 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,867 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+8.0%) | Down 1,096 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 2,867 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 Kleoppel 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 | #151,532 | #148,665 | 1.9% |
| Count | 108 | 111 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kleoppel bearers went from 108 to 111 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 2,867 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #148,665.
FAQ
Kleoppel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kleoppel?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Kleoppel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Kleoppel?
Kleoppel ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Kleoppel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Kleoppel.
Has Kleoppel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kleoppel went from 108 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Kleoppel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleoppel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Kleoppel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kleoppel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.1%), Hispanic (6.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Kleoppel (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 Kleoppel mean?
A habitational name referring to someone from a place named with a Slavic word meaning "oak grove". 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 Kleoppel (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 have the surname Kleoppel?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.