2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kofmehl
A German surname derived from the words "kof", meaning "barn", and "mehl", meaning "flour", possibly referring to a miller or flour trader.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Kofmehl. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kofmehl 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Kofmehl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kofmehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kofmehl
The surname "KOFMEHL" is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the late 18th or early 19th century. It is thought to be derived from the German words "Kof" meaning "head" and "Mehl" meaning "flour" or "meal". This suggests the name may have been occupational in nature, possibly referring to someone involved in the milling or handling of flour or grain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "KOFMEHL" can be found in a German census record from the town of Boppard in the Rhineland-Palatinate region, dated 1812. Here, a family by the name of Kofmehl is listed as residing in the town. This suggests the name had already been established in this area by the early 19th century.
In the mid-19th century, a Johann Kofmehl (1832-1901) was a prominent figure in the German labor movement, advocating for workers' rights and better working conditions. He played a key role in the formation of several early trade unions in the region around Frankfurt.
Another notable figure was the philosopher and writer Hermann Kofmehl (1865-1942), who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy. His works, such as "The Foundations of Ethics" (1902) and "Ethics and the Modern World" (1918), were widely read and discussed in academic circles of the time.
In the early 20th century, a Luise Kofmehl (1879-1962) was a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights in Germany. She founded several schools for girls and worked tirelessly to promote equal educational opportunities for women.
Moving into the arts, a painter by the name of Karl Kofmehl (1892-1976) gained recognition for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the German countryside. His works were exhibited in several major galleries across Germany and some of his pieces are now held in museum collections.
Finally, a more recent example is the German-born American physicist Otto Kofmehl (1920-2005), who made important contributions to the field of nuclear physics during his career. He worked on several major projects, including the Manhattan Project during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kofmehl
Among Census respondents with the surname Kofmehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kofmehl 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 Kofmehl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 112
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kofmehl
Kofmehl 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,356 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-7 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,191 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 10,356 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 8,191 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 Kofmehl 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 | #138,304 | #146,495 | -5.9% |
| Count | 121 | 114 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kofmehl bearers went from 121 to 114 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 8,191 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #146,495.
FAQ
Kofmehl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kofmehl?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Kofmehl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Kofmehl?
Kofmehl ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 114 people with the surname Kofmehl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Kofmehl.
Has Kofmehl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kofmehl went from 121 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Kofmehl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kofmehl, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Kofmehl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kofmehl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Kofmehl (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 Kofmehl mean?
A German surname derived from the words "kof", meaning "barn", and "mehl", meaning "flour", possibly referring to a miller or flour trader. 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 Kofmehl (0.04 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 share the surname Kofmehl?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.