2000
#12,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,289
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Klosterman
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a monastery or convent.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,618 Americans carry the last name Klosterman. That puts it at #12,884 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,922 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Klosterman 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
2.6K
1 in 130,922
Census rank
#12,884
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,283 bearers of the surname Klosterman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12884th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Klosterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Klosterman
The surname Klosterman is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Kloster," which means "monastery" or "cloister." This name was likely given to someone who lived near or worked in a monastery.
In the late 12th century, the name Klosterman appeared in various records and manuscripts in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. It was often spelled as "Closterman" or "Klostermann" in those early documents.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Johannes Klosterman, who lived in the town of Erfurt, Thuringia, in the late 14th century. He was a respected merchant and landowner, and his name can be found in several legal documents from that time.
Another notable figure was Konrad Klosterman, a German painter and sculptor who lived in the 15th century. He is known for his intricate woodcarvings and religious artworks, some of which can still be seen in churches across Germany.
In the 16th century, the name Klosterman was associated with the town of Klosterhausen, located in what is now the state of Saxony-Anhalt. This town was named after a nearby monastery, and many residents adopted the surname Klosterman, indicating their connection to the area.
Johann Klosterman, born in 1677, was a prominent German theologian and philosopher. He wrote extensively on religious and moral issues and was highly regarded in academic circles during his lifetime.
Friedrich Klosterman, born in 1795, was a German philologist and classical scholar. He is best known for his translations of ancient Greek and Latin texts, and his work helped to popularize classical literature in the 19th century.
As the Klosterman family dispersed across German-speaking regions, the name took on various spellings, including Klostermann, Klostermair, and Klosternann. However, the connection to the monastic origins of the name remained consistent throughout its history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Klosterman
Among Census respondents with the surname Klosterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Klosterman 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 Klosterman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 2,149
- Two or more races2.8% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Klosterman
Klosterman 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
#12,994
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,363
+74 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 557 places
2020
#12,884
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,283
-80 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 110 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,437 | 2,289 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,994 | 2,363 | 0.80 | +74 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 557 places |
| 2020 | #12,884 | 2,283 | 0.76 | -80 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 110 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 Klosterman 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 | #12,994 | #12,884 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,363 | 2,283 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.76 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Klosterman bearers went from 2,363 to 2,283 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 110 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,994 to #12,884.
FAQ
Klosterman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Klosterman?
Name Census estimates that about 2,618 living Americans carry the surname Klosterman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,922 residents.
How common is Klosterman?
Klosterman ranks #12,884 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,283 people with the surname Klosterman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,618), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Klosterman.
Has Klosterman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Klosterman went from 2,363 recorded bearers to 2,283. That is a decrease of 80 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,994 to #12,884.
What does the Census say about the background of Klosterman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Klosterman, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Klosterman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (2,149 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Klosterman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Klosterman (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 Klosterman mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who lived or worked in a monastery or convent. 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 Klosterman (0.76 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 have the surname Klosterman?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.