2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kolenich
A surname of South Slavic origin meaning "one who cultivates kale or cabbage".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Kolenich. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kolenich 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Kolenich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolenich, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kolenich
The surname KOLENICH is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, possibly in the Slavic regions of present-day Poland, Ukraine, or Belarus. It likely dates back to the 15th or 16th century. The name appears to be derived from the Slavic root "kolen," which means "knee" or "bend," and may have initially referred to someone who lived near a bend in a river or road.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a Polish municipal record from the city of Krakow in the late 16th century, where a certain Grzegorz Kolenicz is mentioned as a resident. There are also references to individuals with similar spellings, such as Koleniczy or Kolenich, in various historical documents from the region during the 17th and 18th centuries.
In the 19th century, the name KOLENICH appears to have spread to other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with significant Slavic populations. For instance, there are records of a family with this surname living in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the early 1800s.
Notable individuals with the surname KOLENICH include:
1. Jan Kolenich (1592-1647), a Polish painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraiture.
2. Mikhail Kolenich (1809-1884), a Russian mathematician and professor at the University of St. Petersburg.
3. Olga Kolenich (1865-1922), a Ukrainian writer and feminist activist who campaigned for women's rights and education.
4. Viktor Kolenich (1890-1967), a Czech composer and conductor who conducted several major orchestras in Europe during the mid-20th century.
5. Yuri Kolenich (1921-2003), a Soviet military officer and decorated veteran of World War II, who rose to the rank of General in the Red Army.
While the name KOLENICH may have originated from a specific geographic location or feature, over time it has become associated with various cultural and historical figures across Eastern and Central Europe, reflecting the migration and diversity of Slavic populations throughout the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kolenich
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolenich, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Kolenich 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 Kolenich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.5% · 115
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kolenich
Kolenich 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
+11 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,453 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,207 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 1,453 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 5,207 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 Kolenich 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 | #143,511 | -3.8% |
| Count | 121 | 118 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kolenich bearers went from 121 to 118 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 5,207 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #143,511.
FAQ
Kolenich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kolenich?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Kolenich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Kolenich?
Kolenich ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Kolenich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Kolenich.
Has Kolenich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kolenich went from 121 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Kolenich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolenich, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Kolenich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kolenich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Kolenich (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 Kolenich mean?
A surname of South Slavic origin meaning "one who cultivates kale or cabbage". 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 Kolenich (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 have the last name Kolenich?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Kolenich at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.