2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Kolari
A locational surname derived from the Finnish word "kolari", meaning a place among the coal mines or forges.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Kolari. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kolari 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Kolari in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolari, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kolari
The surname Kolari originated in Finland, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to derive from the Finnish word "kolari," which means "a collier" or "a charcoal burner." The name was typically associated with individuals living in areas where charcoal production was a common occupation, particularly in the forested regions of central and eastern Finland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kolari name can be found in the parish records of Hauho, a municipality located in the Tavastia Proper region of Finland. In the late 16th century, a man named Olavi Kolari was mentioned in these records, suggesting that the surname was already in use during that time period.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kolari surname appeared in various historical documents across Finland. Notable examples include Pietari Kolari, a farmer from Lempäälä who was mentioned in a land ownership record from 1678, and Juho Kolari, a soldier from Jämsä who fought in the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-1809.
In the 19th century, the Kolari name gained prominence with the birth of Ehrnrooth Kolari (1820-1892), a Finnish writer and journalist who was a pioneer in the field of Finnish literature. Another notable figure was Juho Kolari (1858-1923), a Finnish politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, who played a significant role in the country's independence movement.
The 20th century saw the rise of several individuals with the Kolari surname, including Vihtori Kolari (1896-1978), a Finnish athlete who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, and Vilho Kolari (1911-1989), a Finnish cross-country skier who won a silver medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
It is worth mentioning that the Kolari surname has also been associated with various place names in Finland, such as the municipality of Kolari in Lapland, as well as the village of Kolari in the municipality of Hauho, where the name is believed to have originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kolari
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolari, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kolari 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 Kolari surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kolari
Kolari appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+7 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,777 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 8,777 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 Kolari 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 | #159,712 | #150,935 | 5.5% |
| Count | 101 | 108 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kolari bearers went from 101 to 108 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 8,777 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #150,935.
FAQ
Kolari surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kolari?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Kolari. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Kolari?
Kolari ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Kolari. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Kolari.
Has Kolari become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kolari went from 101 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 7 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Kolari?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolari, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Kolari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kolari appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9.3%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Kolari (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 Kolari mean?
A locational surname derived from the Finnish word "kolari", meaning a place among the coal mines or forges. 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 Kolari (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 Americans have the surname Kolari?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.