2000
#3,505
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,319
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.45
Rare Last name
Klinger
A German occupational surname referring to a maker of blades or swords.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,424 Americans carry the last name Klinger. That puts it at #4,173 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,370 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Klinger 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Klinger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.4K
1 in 36,370
Census rank
#4,173
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,218 bearers of the surname Klinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4173rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Klinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Klinger
The surname Klinger is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "klingen," meaning "to sound" or "to ring." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a bell-ringer or in a profession related to metalworking.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century, with early recorded instances found in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Swabia. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Konrad der Klinger, who was mentioned in a document from the city of Nuremberg in 1292.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the surname Klinger appeared in various historical records and manuscripts, often associated with artisans, tradesmen, and members of the emerging middle class in German towns and cities.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Klinger was Andreas Klinger (1522-1561), a German theologian and Protestant reformer who played a role in the Reformation movement in Saxony.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Klinger family name gained prominence in several parts of Germany, including the regions of Württemberg and Hesse. One notable bearer of the name was Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger (1752-1831), a German playwright, novelist, and dramatist who was a leading figure in the Sturm und Drang literary movement.
Another notable figure was Max Klinger (1857-1920), a German painter, sculptor, and printmaker who was a prominent representative of the Symbolist movement in art. His works, which often explored themes of life, death, and the human condition, were highly influential in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the 19th century, the surname Klinger also gained recognition in the field of medicine with the German physician and pathologist Friedrich Gustav Jakob Klinger (1801-1868), who made significant contributions to the study of diseases of the brain and spinal cord.
Throughout its history, the surname Klinger has been associated with various professions, from artisans and tradesmen to intellectuals, artists, and medical professionals, reflecting the diverse paths taken by bearers of this name across different regions of Germany and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Klinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Klinger 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 Klinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 7,650
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 240
- Two or more races2.5% · 205
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 28
- Black or African American0.3% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Klinger
Klinger 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
#3,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,179
-140 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 3.11
Rank movement Down 359 places
2020
#4,173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,218
-961 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 2.75
Rank movement Down 309 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,505 | 9,319 | 3.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,864 | 9,179 | 3.11 | -140 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 359 places |
| 2020 | #4,173 | 8,218 | 2.75 | -961 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 309 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 Klinger 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 | #3,864 | #4,173 | -8.0% |
| Count | 9,179 | 8,218 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.11 | 2.75 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Klinger bearers went from 9,179 to 8,218 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 309 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,864 to #4,173.
FAQ
Klinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Klinger?
Name Census estimates that about 9,424 living Americans carry the surname Klinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,370 residents.
How common is Klinger?
Klinger ranks #4,173 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,218 people with the surname Klinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Klinger.
Has Klinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Klinger went from 9,179 recorded bearers to 8,218. That is a decrease of 961 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,864 to #4,173.
What does the Census say about the background of Klinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Klinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Klinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (7,650 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Klinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Klinger (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 Klinger mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker of blades or swords. 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 Klinger (2.75 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 Klinger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.