2000
#44,350
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 457
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Kloehn
A German surname derived from a place name, possibly originating from Klön or Klon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 601 Americans carry the last name Kloehn. That puts it at #44,220 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 570,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kloehn 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
601
1 in 570,307
Census rank
#44,220
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
524
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 524 bearers of the surname Kloehn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 44220th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kloehn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kloehn
The surname Kloehn is of German origin, deriving from the northern regions of the country. It is believed to have originated in the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. The name is thought to have evolved from the Old German word "klo," which referred to a type of wooden clog or shoe worn by peasants and commoners.
One of the earliest known records of the name appears in a document from the city of Lübeck, dated 1472, which mentions a "Hans Kloehn" among a list of local residents. Variations of the spelling, such as "Kloene" and "Klohne," can also be found in historical records from the same region during that time period.
In the 16th century, the surname Kloehn began to spread beyond its original northern German roots. Records from the city of Cologne in 1548 mention a "Wilhelm Kloehn," suggesting that the name had traveled westward. Additionally, a church register from the town of Bielefeld in 1583 includes the name "Johann Kloehn."
Notably, the surname Kloehn is associated with a notable figure from the Reformation era. Martin Kloehn (1527-1596) was a German theologian and reformist who played a significant role in spreading Protestant teachings throughout northern Germany and parts of Denmark.
As the name continued to disperse in the following centuries, it can be traced to various locations across Germany and beyond. In the 18th century, records show a "Friedrich Kloehn" living in the Prussian city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), while a "Hans Kloehn" is documented as residing in the Dutch city of Amsterdam in the 1760s.
Other notable individuals bearing the surname Kloehn include Johann Kloehn (1793-1867), a German philosopher and educator who taught at the University of Heidelberg, and Gustav Kloehn (1867-1944), a German-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in Chicago during the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kloehn
Among Census respondents with the surname Kloehn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kloehn 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 Kloehn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 480
- Two or more races4.6% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kloehn
Kloehn 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
#42,163
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 515
+58 bearers (+12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Up 2,187 places
2020
#44,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 524
+9 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 2,057 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #44,350 | 457 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,163 | 515 | 0.17 | +58 bearers (+12.7%) | Up 2,187 places |
| 2020 | #44,220 | 524 | 0.18 | +9 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 2,057 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 Kloehn 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 | #42,163 | #44,220 | -4.9% |
| Count | 515 | 524 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.18 | 3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kloehn bearers went from 515 to 524 (+1.7% change). The surname moved down 2,057 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,163 to #44,220.
FAQ
Kloehn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kloehn?
Name Census estimates that about 601 living Americans carry the surname Kloehn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 570,307 residents.
How common is Kloehn?
Kloehn ranks #44,220 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 524 people with the surname Kloehn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (601), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Kloehn.
Has Kloehn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kloehn went from 515 recorded bearers to 524. That is an increase of 9 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #42,163 to #44,220.
What does the Census say about the background of Kloehn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kloehn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Kloehn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (480 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kloehn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Kloehn (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 Kloehn mean?
A German surname derived from a place name, possibly originating from Klön or Klon. 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 Kloehn (0.18 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 are called Kloehn?
Want to know how many people have the last name Kloehn? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.