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

Kolev, 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 Kolev surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kolev in America

Kolev is the 44808th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kolev surname appeared 479 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 Kolev.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kolev 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 Kolev

The surname Kolev is of Slavic origin, specifically from Bulgaria. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name Kolo, which means "wheel" or "circle" in Slavic languages. The name can be traced back to the 9th century, during the First Bulgarian Empire.

Kolev was a common surname among Bulgarians living in the regions of Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna. It is believed that some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Bulgarian manuscripts and church records from the 11th and 12th centuries.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Kolev was Ivan Kolev, a Bulgarian nobleman and military commander who lived in the late 14th century during the Second Bulgarian Empire. He fought against the Ottoman Turks and played a significant role in the defense of the Bulgarian lands.

Another notable figure with the surname Kolev was Vasil Kolev, a Bulgarian writer and poet who lived in the 19th century (1825-1892). He was a prominent figure in the Bulgarian National Revival movement and contributed to the development of modern Bulgarian literature.

In the 20th century, Stoyan Kolev (1900-1982) was a renowned Bulgarian painter and art professor known for his landscapes and portraits. His works are part of the collections of various art museums in Bulgaria and abroad.

Georgi Kolev (1915-1995) was a Bulgarian actor and theater director who gained recognition for his performances on stage and in films. He was awarded the prestigious Cyril and Methodius Order for his contributions to Bulgarian culture.

More recently, Rumyana Koleva (born 1966) is a Bulgarian athlete who won a silver medal in the high jump at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, representing Bulgaria.

The surname Kolev continues to be widely used in Bulgaria, and it has also spread to other Slavic countries due to migration and historical connections.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kolev

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

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

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

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