2000
#11,162
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,607
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Kollar
An occupational surname for a wheelwright or cartwright, derived from the Slovak word "kolár" meaning "wheelmaker."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,885 Americans carry the last name Kollar. That puts it at #11,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,806 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kollar 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
2.9K
1 in 118,806
Census rank
#11,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,516 bearers of the surname Kollar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kollar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kollar
The surname Kollar originated in Hungary and Slovakia, deriving from the Slovak word "kolar," meaning a cartwright or wheelwright. It's believed to have first emerged in the 13th or 14th century as an occupational surname, referring to individuals who crafted and repaired wheels and carts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 15th-century document from the town of Trnava, in present-day Slovakia, which mentions a certain Matej Kollar. In the same century, a Ján Kollar is recorded as a prominent wheelwright in the village of Dolný Kubín, also in Slovakia.
The name has variations in spelling, such as Kollár, Kolář, and Kollár, reflecting its use across different regions and languages. For instance, the Polish spelling is Kolarz, while in Croatia, it's Kolar.
Notable individuals with the surname Kollar include Jan Kollar (1793-1852), a Slovak poet, archaeologist, and theologian considered a key figure in the Slovak national revival. Another famous bearer of the name was Frantisek Kollar (1718-1783), a Hungarian Jesuit scholar and bibliographer.
In the 16th century, a family of Kollars settled in the town of Banská Bystrica, in what is now central Slovakia. This family produced several prominent members, including Jozef Kollar (1730-1804), a renowned mathematician and astronomer.
Moving into the 17th century, a record from 1628 mentions a certain Ján Kollar as a respected craftsman in the town of Trenčín, in western Slovakia. Around the same time, a Michal Kollar is documented as a respected wheelwright in the Hungarian town of Eger.
As the surname spread across central and eastern Europe, it took on various forms, such as Koller in Germany and Austria, and Kolář in the Czech Republic. However, the origins of the name can be traced back to the Slovak and Hungarian regions, where it first emerged as an occupational surname for those skilled in the craft of wheelwrighting and cartmaking.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kollar
Among Census respondents with the surname Kollar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Kollar 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 Kollar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 2,336
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 89
- Two or more races2.5% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 19
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kollar
Kollar 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
#10,607
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,019
+412 bearers (+15.8%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Up 555 places
2020
#11,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,516
-503 bearers (-16.7%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 1,293 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,162 | 2,607 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,607 | 3,019 | 1.02 | +412 bearers (+15.8%) | Up 555 places |
| 2020 | #11,900 | 2,516 | 0.84 | -503 bearers (-16.7%) | Down 1,293 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 Kollar 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 | #10,607 | #11,900 | -12.2% |
| Count | 3,019 | 2,516 | -16.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.84 | -17.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kollar bearers went from 3,019 to 2,516 (-16.7% change). The surname moved down 1,293 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,607 to #11,900.
FAQ
Kollar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kollar?
Name Census estimates that about 2,885 living Americans carry the surname Kollar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,806 residents.
How common is Kollar?
Kollar ranks #11,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,516 people with the surname Kollar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,885), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Kollar.
Has Kollar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kollar went from 3,019 recorded bearers to 2,516. That is a decrease of 503 (-16.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,607 to #11,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Kollar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kollar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and 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 Kollar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (2,336 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kollar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.5%), 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 Kollar (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 Kollar mean?
An occupational surname for a wheelwright or cartwright, derived from the Slovak word "kolár" meaning "wheelmaker." 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 Kollar (0.84 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 Kollar?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Kollar on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.