2000
#43,629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 466
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.17
Very Rare Last name
Kocourek
A Czech surname derived from the word "kocour" meaning tomcat or male cat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 541 Americans carry the last name Kocourek. That puts it at #48,348 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 633,557 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kocourek 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
541
1 in 633,557
Census rank
#48,348
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
472
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 472 bearers of the surname Kocourek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48348th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kocourek, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kocourek
The surname Kocourek originated in the Czech Republic, likely in the late 14th or early 15th century. It is derived from the Czech word "kocour," which means "tomcat." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who had a particular association with cats, possibly as a nickname or occupation.
The earliest known records of the name Kocourek can be traced back to the town of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic, where it appeared in the local parish registers in the late 1400s. Variations of the spelling, such as Koczaurek and Kotzaurek, were also found in these early records.
In the 16th century, the Kocourek surname began to spread to other regions of Bohemia and Moravia, which were part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time. During this period, the name was occasionally Germanized to Katzauer or Katzer, reflecting the German influence in the area.
One notable early bearer of the Kocourek name was Jan Kocourek, a prominent Czech clergyman who lived in the early 17th century. He served as a canon of the cathedral chapter in Prague and was known for his scholarly works on theology and canon law.
Another historically significant figure with the Kocourek surname was Václav Kocourek, a Czech military officer who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He served under the command of Albrecht von Wallenstein and played a role in several key battles during the conflict.
In the 19th century, the Kocourek name gained wider recognition with the birth of František Kocourek (1831-1920), a Czech lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Bohemian Diet (regional parliament) and the Imperial Council of Austria.
Jaroslav Kocourek (1863-1925) was a notable Czech educator and writer who lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He authored several textbooks and works on pedagogy and was instrumental in promoting educational reform in Bohemia.
Finally, one of the most prominent bearers of the Kocourek surname in modern times was Albert Kocourek (1875-1944), a Czech-American legal scholar and professor at Northwestern University. He made significant contributions to the study of jurisprudence and was widely respected in the field of legal education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kocourek
Among Census respondents with the surname Kocourek, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kocourek 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 Kocourek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 444
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 14
- Two or more races1.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 4
- Black or African American0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kocourek
Kocourek 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
#44,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 486
+20 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 641 places
2020
#48,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 472
-14 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 4,078 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #43,629 | 466 | 0.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,270 | 486 | 0.16 | +20 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 641 places |
| 2020 | #48,348 | 472 | 0.16 | -14 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 4,078 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 Kocourek 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 | #44,270 | #48,348 | -9.2% |
| Count | 486 | 472 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.16 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kocourek bearers went from 486 to 472 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 4,078 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,270 to #48,348.
FAQ
Kocourek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kocourek?
Name Census estimates that about 541 living Americans carry the surname Kocourek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 633,557 residents.
How common is Kocourek?
Kocourek ranks #48,348 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 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 472 people with the surname Kocourek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (541), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 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 Kocourek.
Has Kocourek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kocourek went from 486 recorded bearers to 472. That is a decrease of 14 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #44,270 to #48,348.
What does the Census say about the background of Kocourek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kocourek, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Kocourek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (444 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kocourek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Kocourek (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 Kocourek mean?
A Czech surname derived from the word "kocour" meaning tomcat or male cat. 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 Kocourek (0.16 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 common is the surname Kocourek?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Kocourek at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.