2000
#1,527
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,606
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.01
Uncommon Last name
Koenig
A German and Dutch occupational surname meaning "king," originally referring to a tribal leader or village chief.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,178 Americans carry the last name Koenig. That puts it at #1,667 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,176 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Koenig 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 Koenig with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,176
Census rank
#1,667
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,084 bearers of the surname Koenig in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1667th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Koenig, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Koenig
The surname Koenig is of German origin, derived from the German word "König" meaning "king". It originated in the Germanic regions of central Europe during the Middle Ages.
The name was initially used as a descriptive surname for someone who held a position of authority or power, similar to a king or ruler. It may have also been given to someone who had a regal bearing or appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Koenig can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Kingdom of Saxony, which mentions a person named "Heinrich Koenig" in the year 1295.
In the 14th century, the name Koenig appeared in the Reichsmatrikel, an imperial register of estates in the Holy Roman Empire, which listed several individuals with this surname from various regions of Germany.
During the Renaissance period, a notable bearer of the name was Johannes Koenig, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1618. He made significant contributions to the study of optics and the development of the telescope.
Another prominent figure with the surname Koenig was Johann Samuel Koenig, a German inventor born in 1712. He is credited with developing the first successful typesetting machine, which revolutionized the printing industry.
In the 19th century, the name Koenig was associated with Rudolph Koenig, a German physicist and acoustician born in 1832. He is renowned for his work on the physical principles of sound and the design of acoustical instruments.
The surname Koenig also has variations in spelling, such as König, Konig, and Koning, which can be found in different regions of Germany and the Netherlands.
Additionally, the name Koenig has been linked to various place names, such as Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), which means "King's Mountain", and Königsfeld, a town in the Black Forest region of Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koenig
Among Census respondents with the surname Koenig, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Koenig 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 Koenig surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 19,417
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 675
- Two or more races2.8% · 587
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 157
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 135
- Black or African American0.5% · 113
Timeline
Historical Census data for Koenig
Koenig 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
#1,592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,499
+893 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 7.63
Rank movement Down 65 places
2020
#1,667
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,084
-1,415 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 7.05
Rank movement Down 75 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,527 | 21,606 | 8.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,592 | 22,499 | 7.63 | +893 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 65 places |
| 2020 | #1,667 | 21,084 | 7.05 | -1,415 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 75 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 Koenig 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 | #1,592 | #1,667 | -4.7% |
| Count | 22,499 | 21,084 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 7.63 | 7.05 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Koenig bearers went from 22,499 to 21,084 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 75 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,592 to #1,667.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Koenig
FAQ
Koenig surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Koenig?
Name Census estimates that about 24,178 living Americans carry the surname Koenig. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,176 residents.
How common is Koenig?
Koenig ranks #1,667 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,084 people with the surname Koenig. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Koenig.
Has Koenig become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Koenig went from 22,499 recorded bearers to 21,084. That is a decrease of 1,415 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,592 to #1,667.
What does the Census say about the background of Koenig?
Among Census respondents with the surname Koenig, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Koenig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (19,417 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Koenig appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Koenig (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 Koenig mean?
A German and Dutch occupational surname meaning "king," originally referring to a tribal leader or village chief. 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 Koenig (7.05 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 Koenig?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Koenig at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.