2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kochenash
From the Russian language, meaning a person who was a cook or chef.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Kochenash. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kochenash 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Kochenash in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kochenash, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kochenash
The surname KOCHENASH has its origins in Germany, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from a locational name, possibly derived from a place called Kochenau or Kochenheim. These place names are thought to be composed of the Middle High German words "koche" meaning "cook" and "heim" meaning "home" or "village".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KOCHENASH can be found in the town records of Heidelberg, Germany, where a certain Johannes Kochenash was listed as a resident in the year 1532. It is likely that Johannes or his ancestors may have been employed as cooks or originated from a place associated with cooking or the culinary trade.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in various church records and documents across the German states. Notable examples include Hans Kochenash, a merchant from Cologne who was born in 1612, and Anna Kochenash, a resident of Nuremberg mentioned in a birth registry from 1678.
As the name spread across Europe, variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged. In France, for instance, the name was recorded as Kochenache, while in the Netherlands it was sometimes written as Kochenaasch.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name outside of Germany can be found in the British colonial records of North America. A certain Johann Kochenash, born in 1712 in the Palatinate region of Germany, is listed as having immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1738.
Throughout history, the name KOCHENASH has been associated with several notable individuals. Johann Friedrich Kochenash (1718-1792) was a German theologian and author who wrote extensively on religious subjects. In the 19th century, Heinrich Kochenash (1837-1901) was a respected engineer and inventor from Bavaria, known for his contributions to the field of steam engine design.
Other notable figures include the French painter Émile Kochenash (1856-1928), whose works are housed in various museums across Europe, and the American novelist and poet Emily Kochenash (1892-1972), whose literary works explored themes of identity and cultural assimilation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kochenash
Among Census respondents with the surname Kochenash, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kochenash 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 Kochenash surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.1% · 97
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kochenash
Kochenash 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,479 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-12 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 9,535 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 6,479 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -12 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 9,535 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 Kochenash 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 | #145,220 | #154,755 | -6.6% |
| Count | 114 | 102 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kochenash bearers went from 114 to 102 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 9,535 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #154,755.
FAQ
Kochenash surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kochenash?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Kochenash. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Kochenash?
Kochenash ranks #154,755 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 102 people with the surname Kochenash. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), 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 Kochenash.
Has Kochenash become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kochenash went from 114 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Kochenash?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kochenash, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Kochenash in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kochenash appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.1%), Two or More Races (2.0%), Black (1.0%). 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 Kochenash (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 Kochenash mean?
From the Russian language, meaning a person who was a cook or chef. 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 Kochenash (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 have the surname Kochenash?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.