Find out how popular the last name Kohls is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kohls.

Kohls, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kohls surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kohls in America

Kohls is the 14220th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kohls surname appeared 2,110 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kohls.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kohls to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kohls

The surname KOHLS is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "kohle," which means "coal" or "charcoal." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked with coal or charcoal, such as a coal miner or a charcoal burner.

In its earliest recorded forms, the surname appeared as "Kohle" or "Kohler" in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, where a certain "Hans Kohler" was mentioned in 1387.

The surname KOHLS also has connections to various place names in Germany. For example, there is a town called Kohle in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and another town called Kohlberg in the state of Baden-Württemberg. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname KOHLS. One of the earliest was Johann Peter Kohls (1746-1818), a German botanist and explorer who traveled extensively in Russia and Siberia. Another notable figure was Friedrich Kohls (1849-1929), a German architect and urban planner who was influential in the development of modern city planning.

In the 19th century, the name KOHLS gained prominence in the United States due to the immigration of German families. One famous American with this surname was Walter J. Kohls (1887-1962), who founded the department store chain Kohl's Corporation in Wisconsin in 1927.

Another notable American was Rudolf Kohls (1907-1997), a mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis and was a pioneer in the development of electronic computers.

A more recent figure with the surname KOHLS was Johann Kohls (1935-2019), a German composer and conductor who was known for his work in contemporary classical music.

Overall, the surname KOHLS has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scientists, architects, entrepreneurs, and artists, spanning multiple centuries and countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kohls

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kohls.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kohls was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kohls has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kohls was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kohls, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!