2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Klimisch
A German surname derived from the word "klimmen" meaning "to climb".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Klimisch. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Klimisch 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
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Klimisch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Klimisch, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Klimisch
The surname Klimisch is of German origin, with roots dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the German word "Klimisch," which means "from Climetz," referring to a town in the region of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Climezzo" in 1186.
The name is believed to have originated in the region of Rhineland-Palatinate, where the town of Climetz was located. It is possible that the name was initially used to identify individuals who lived in or near this town, eventually becoming a hereditary surname.
In the 13th century, records show a mention of a "Johannes de Climezzo" in a manuscript from the Benedictine monastery in Trier, Germany. This is one of the earliest written references to the name.
During the 16th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "Klymisch," "Klymysch," and "Klymyche," reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. One notable individual from this period was Hans Klimisch, a merchant and landowner in the city of Cologne, who lived from 1520 to 1588.
In the 18th century, the surname gained prominence with Johann Sebastian Klimisch, a renowned composer and organist born in Saxony in 1723. He made significant contributions to the development of German church music during his lifetime.
Another notable figure was Wilhelmina Klimisch, a 19th-century author and activist from Berlin, born in 1812. She wrote several books on women's rights and education, advocating for greater opportunities for women in German society.
In the early 20th century, a German physicist named Otto Klimisch (1879-1958) made important contributions to the study of X-ray crystallography, working alongside pioneers like Max von Laue and Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen.
The surname Klimisch has also been associated with various places, such as Klimisch, a small village in the Rhineland-Palatinate region, and Klimischberg, a mountain range located in the same area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klimisch
Among Census respondents with the surname Klimisch, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Klimisch 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 Klimisch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 98
Timeline
Historical Census data for Klimisch
Klimisch appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-19 bearers (-16.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,161 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -19 bearers (-16.2%) | Down 14,161 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 Klimisch 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 | #142,108 | #156,269 | -10.0% |
| Count | 117 | 98 | -16.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Klimisch bearers went from 117 to 98 (-16.2% change). The surname moved down 14,161 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #156,269.
FAQ
Klimisch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Klimisch?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Klimisch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Klimisch?
Klimisch ranks #156,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 98 people with the surname Klimisch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Klimisch.
Has Klimisch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Klimisch went from 117 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 19 (-16.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Klimisch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Klimisch, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Klimisch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Klimisch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Klimisch (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 Klimisch mean?
A German surname derived from the word "klimmen" meaning "to climb". 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 Klimisch (0.03 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 Klimisch?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.