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

Kohnhorst, 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 Kohnhorst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kohnhorst in America

Kohnhorst is the 115034th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kohnhorst surname appeared 152 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kohnhorst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kohnhorst 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 Kohnhorst

The surname KOHNHORST originated in Germany, emerging in the late 16th century. It is believed to derive from the German words "Kohn" meaning "Cohen" or "priest," and "Horst," referring to a wooded area or thicket. This suggests the name may have initially been applied to a member of the Jewish priestly class residing near a forested region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the KOHNHORST name can be found in a 1598 parish register from the town of Münster, Westphalia, which mentions a "Johannes Kohnhorst." Around this time, variations like "Konhorst" and "Kohenhorst" also appeared in historical documents across northern Germany.

In the 17th century, the KOHNHORST name surfaced in several German chronicles and manuscripts, including a 1621 entry in the municipal records of Osnabrück referencing a "Heinrich Kohnhorst." A 1653 property deed from Lübeck also lists a "Gottfried Kohnhorst" as a landowner.

Notable individuals bearing the KOHNHORST surname throughout history include Jakob Kohnhorst (1687-1761), a prominent merchant and alderman in the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Another was Christoph Kohnhorst (1732-1805), a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the Duchy of Mecklenburg.

During the 19th century, the KOHNHORST name spread across Germany and into neighboring regions. Carl Kohnhorst (1822-1892) was a German-born industrialist who established successful textile mills in Saxony and Bohemia. His contemporary, Wilhelm Kohnhorst (1828-1901), was a noted architect and urban planner responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Berlin.

Another figure of note was Emilie Kohnhorst (1861-1943), a pioneering female educator from Silesia who campaigned for greater access to higher education for women in Prussia. She founded one of the first girls' secondary schools in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in 1892.

While the KOHNHORST surname maintains a presence in modern Germany, its origins can be traced back over four centuries to the forested regions of northern Europe, where it likely denoted members of the Jewish priesthood residing in wooded settlements.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kohnhorst

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

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 Kohnhorst 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 Kohnhorst 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 Kohnhorst was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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