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

Kliger, 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 Kliger surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kliger in America

Kliger is the 103181st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kliger surname appeared 174 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 Kliger.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kliger 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 Kliger

The surname KLIGER is of Jewish origin, traced back to the late 18th century and early 19th century in parts of modern-day Poland and Ukraine. It is believed to have derived from the Yiddish word "kligor," which means "one who binds books" or a bookbinder.

The earliest known record of the KLIGER surname is found in the Jewish community of Kalisz, a city in central Poland, dating back to the late 1700s. It is likely that the name originated among Jewish bookbinders and scribes who settled in this region.

During the 19th century, the KLIGER name began to appear in various Jewish communities across the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which encompassed parts of present-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. As the Jewish population migrated and settled in different areas, the surname spread and evolved with slight variations in spelling, such as KLIGER, KLEGER, and KLIGER.

One notable individual bearing the KLIGER surname was Yitzchak KLIGER (1825-1895), a renowned Talmudic scholar and Rabbi from the town of Radzyn, Poland. His commentaries and teachings on the Talmud and Jewish law were widely studied and revered in the Jewish community of his time.

Another historical figure with the KLIGER surname was Mordechai KLIGER (1857-1924), a prominent Zionist activist and writer from the city of Vilnius, which was part of the Russian Empire at the time. He was a strong advocate for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and contributed significantly to the early Zionist movement.

In the early 20th century, the KLIGER surname made its way to other parts of Europe and beyond as Jewish families immigrated to escape persecution and seek better opportunities. One notable KLIGER was Shmuel KLIGER (1885-1957), a Russian-born Jewish writer and journalist who settled in the United States and became a prominent figure in the Yiddish literary scene.

Another individual of note was Rachel KLIGER (1910-1995), a Polish-born artist and sculptor who survived the Holocaust and later settled in Israel. Her works, which often depicted scenes from Jewish life and culture, are celebrated for their emotional depth and artistic expression.

As the KLIGER surname spread across various countries and continents, it continued to be associated with Jewish communities and the trades of bookbinding and scribing, reflecting its rich cultural and historical roots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kliger

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

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 Kliger 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 Kliger 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 Kliger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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