2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Klieman
A surname of German origin meaning "little man" or "petite person."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Klieman. 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 Klieman 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 Klieman 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 Klieman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Klieman
The surname KLIEMAN is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "klein," meaning "small" or "little," and may have been used to describe someone of short stature or as a nickname for a younger member of a family.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KLIEMAN surname can be found in the church records of the town of Halle, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, where a Johann Klieman was listed as a resident in the early 1600s. It is possible that the name had its roots in this region and later spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries.
In the late 17th century, a man named Hans Klieman was mentioned in the records of the city of Lübeck, a prominent trading center in northern Germany. This suggests that the name had spread and was in use across different regions of the country by this time.
An individual named Johannes Klieman was recorded as living in the town of Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation, in the early 1700s. This connection to a historically significant location adds to the intrigue surrounding the KLIEMAN name and its potential origins.
One of the earliest known bearers of the KLIEMAN surname was a German philosopher and writer named Friedrich Klieman, who was born in 1783 in the town of Weimar and died in 1859. His works explored themes of ethics, aesthetics, and the nature of human existence, making him a notable figure in the intellectual circles of his time.
Another prominent individual with the KLIEMAN surname was Karl Klieman, a German military officer who served in the Prussian army during the 19th century. He was born in 1818 and participated in several significant battles, including the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871.
In the 20th century, a German artist named Erna Klieman gained recognition for her expressive paintings and sculptures. She was born in 1906 in the city of Dresden and her works were exhibited in various galleries across Germany and Europe during her lifetime.
While the KLIEMAN name does not appear to have any direct connections to place names or historical manuscripts like the Domesday Book, its origins and evolution over the centuries are intriguing, reflecting the rich tapestry of German culture and history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klieman
Among Census respondents with the surname Klieman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Klieman 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 Klieman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 106
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Klieman
Klieman 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
-2 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 9,295 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-15 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | -2 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 9,295 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 15,262 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 Klieman 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 | #128,249 | #143,511 | -11.9% |
| Count | 133 | 118 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Klieman bearers went from 133 to 118 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 15,262 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #143,511.
FAQ
Klieman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Klieman?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Klieman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Klieman?
Klieman 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 Klieman. 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 Klieman.
Has Klieman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Klieman went from 133 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 15 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Klieman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Klieman, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Klieman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Klieman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Klieman (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 Klieman mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "little man" or "petite person." 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 Klieman (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 common is the surname Klieman?
Want to know how many people have the surname Klieman? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.