2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Kolodner
A surname derived from the Ukrainian word for a maker of wheels or wheelwright.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Kolodner. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kolodner 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Kolodner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolodner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kolodner
The surname Kolodner is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, with roots tracing back to the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Yiddish word "kolodne," which means "a deep hole" or "a pit," suggesting that the name may have initially been bestowed upon someone who lived near or worked in such a location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kolodner surname can be found in the Polish town of Białystok, where a merchant named Moshe Kolodner is mentioned in municipal records from the early 1800s. It is possible that the name had already been in use in the region for some time before this documented reference.
In the 19th century, the Kolodner surname began to spread beyond Eastern Europe as members of the Jewish diaspora emigrated to other parts of the world. Notable individuals bearing this name during this period include Isaac Kolodner (1828-1901), a prominent rabbi and scholar who served as the Chief Rabbi of Vilnius, and Yitzchok Kolodner (1849-1918), a respected Hasidic rebbe and author from the town of Brody, now in Ukraine.
As the 20th century dawned, the Kolodner name continued to disperse across various countries and continents. One notable example is Max Kolodner (1887-1958), a Polish-born American businessman who co-founded the successful Kolodner & Margolin department store chain in New York City.
In more recent times, the Kolodner surname has been carried by individuals such as Robert Kolodner (1923-2015), a celebrated American psychiatrist and academic, and Jay Kolodner (born 1950), a computer scientist and pioneer in the field of case-based reasoning.
While the origins of the Kolodner surname can be traced back to Eastern Europe, it has since become a global name, with bearers contributing to various fields and industries across multiple nations and cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kolodner
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolodner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kolodner 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 Kolodner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kolodner
Kolodner 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
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+14 bearers (+14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 14,480 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+14.0%) | Up 14,480 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 Kolodner 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 | #160,975 | #146,495 | 9.0% |
| Count | 100 | 114 | 14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kolodner bearers went from 100 to 114 (+14.0% change). The surname moved up 14,480 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #146,495.
FAQ
Kolodner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kolodner?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Kolodner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Kolodner?
Kolodner ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Kolodner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Kolodner.
Has Kolodner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kolodner went from 100 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 14 (+14.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Kolodner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolodner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Kolodner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kolodner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Kolodner (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 Kolodner mean?
A surname derived from the Ukrainian word for a maker of wheels or wheelwright. 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 Kolodner (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 share the surname Kolodner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.