2000
#13,352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,093
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Kohut
A Jewish surname of Ukrainian origin, likely derived from the Ukrainian word "kohut," meaning "rooster."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,073 Americans carry the last name Kohut. That puts it at #15,568 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,342 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kohut 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 Kohut with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 165,342
Census rank
#15,568
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,808 bearers of the surname Kohut in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15568th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kohut, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kohut
The surname KOHUT is believed to have originated in modern-day Poland and Ukraine, where it dates back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "kohut," which means "rooster" or "cockerel." This suggests that the name may have originated as a nickname or an occupational name for someone who raised or worked with roosters.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KOHUT surname can be found in the court records of the town of Krakow, Poland, from the year 1563. The record mentions a certain Jan KOHUT, who was a farmer and landowner in the nearby village of Bierzanów.
In the 17th century, the KOHUT surname appeared in several historical documents from the region of Galicia, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. For example, a record from 1643 mentions a village called Kohutów, which likely derived its name from an early settler with the KOHUT surname.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the KOHUT surname spread throughout the regions of modern-day Ukraine and Poland. Notable individuals with this surname include the Ukrainian composer and conductor Henryk KOHUT (1885-1948), and the Polish writer and journalist Józef KOHUT (1858-1923).
In the early 20th century, the KOHUT surname began to appear in North America and other parts of the world due to immigration from Eastern Europe. One of the most well-known individuals with this surname was the Polish-American psychoanalyst and author Heinz KOHUT (1913-1981), who developed the theory of self psychology.
Other notable figures throughout history with the KOHUT surname include the Polish military officer and politician Józef KOHUT (1805-1876), the Ukrainian painter and art critic Oleksandr KOHUT (1906-1991), and the American baseball player and coach Joe KOHUT (1918-1991).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kohut
Among Census respondents with the surname Kohut, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kohut 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 Kohut surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 1,700
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 46
- Two or more races2.0% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 19
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kohut
Kohut 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
#14,814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,002
-91 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 1,462 places
2020
#15,568
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,808
-194 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 754 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,352 | 2,093 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,814 | 2,002 | 0.68 | -91 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 1,462 places |
| 2020 | #15,568 | 1,808 | 0.60 | -194 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 754 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 Kohut 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 | #14,814 | #15,568 | -5.1% |
| Count | 2,002 | 1,808 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.60 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kohut bearers went from 2,002 to 1,808 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 754 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,814 to #15,568.
FAQ
Kohut surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kohut?
Name Census estimates that about 2,073 living Americans carry the surname Kohut. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,342 residents.
How common is Kohut?
Kohut ranks #15,568 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,808 people with the surname Kohut. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,073), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kohut.
Has Kohut become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kohut went from 2,002 recorded bearers to 1,808. That is a decrease of 194 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,814 to #15,568.
What does the Census say about the background of Kohut?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kohut, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Kohut in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (1,700 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kohut appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Kohut (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 Kohut mean?
A Jewish surname of Ukrainian origin, likely derived from the Ukrainian word "kohut," meaning "rooster." 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 Kohut (0.60 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 Kohut?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Kohut at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.