2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Koltermann
Surname referring to someone from a settlement or farm of a person named Kolter or Kolters.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Koltermann. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Koltermann 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Koltermann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Koltermann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Koltermann
The surname Koltermann is of German origin, traced back to the late medieval period, specifically the 13th and 14th centuries. It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around the states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.
The name Koltermann is a compound word, derived from the Old German words "kolder" and "mann." "Kolder" is thought to have meant a small, undeveloped sprout or bud, while "mann" referred to a person or man. The combination of these two words suggests that the name Koltermann may have initially been used as a descriptive nickname for someone who was small in stature or perhaps a young man.
One of the earliest known records of the name Koltermann can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to 1342. In this document, a person named Hinricus Koltermann is mentioned as a resident of the city.
Another early reference to the name comes from the Lübecker Oberstadtbuch, a civic registry from the city of Lübeck, where a Hermann Koltermann is recorded as a citizen in the year 1379.
During the 15th century, variations of the name, such as Koldermann and Koltersman, can be found in various records from the northern German regions, including the town of Stade in Lower Saxony.
One notable figure with the surname Koltermann was Johann Koltermann, a merchant and ship owner from the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, who lived in the late 16th century. He was involved in the lucrative salt trade and owned several ships that sailed to ports in the Baltic Sea and North Sea regions.
In the 17th century, a Lutheran pastor named Christoph Koltermann served in the town of Rostock, in the duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He was known for his scholarly writings and sermons during the tumultuous years of the Thirty Years' War.
The 18th century saw the emergence of a prominent Koltermann family in the city of Bremen. Gerhard Koltermann, born in 1712, was a successful merchant and shipowner, while his son, Johann Koltermann (1745-1823), became a respected lawyer and served as a judge in the city's court system.
In the 19th century, a German artist named Wilhelm Koltermann (1838-1903) gained recognition for his landscape paintings, particularly those depicting scenes from the coastal regions of northern Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koltermann
Among Census respondents with the surname Koltermann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Koltermann 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 Koltermann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Koltermann
Koltermann 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
#104,602
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 171
+37 bearers (+27.6%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 15,042 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-50 bearers (-29.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 36,707 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #104,602 | 171 | 0.06 | +37 bearers (+27.6%) | Up 15,042 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -50 bearers (-29.2%) | Down 36,707 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 Koltermann 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 | #104,602 | #141,309 | -35.1% |
| Count | 171 | 121 | -29.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.04 | -32.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Koltermann bearers went from 171 to 121 (-29.2% change). The surname moved down 36,707 positions in the national ranking, going from #104,602 to #141,309.
FAQ
Koltermann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Koltermann?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Koltermann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Koltermann?
Koltermann ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Koltermann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Koltermann.
Has Koltermann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Koltermann went from 171 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 50 (-29.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #104,602 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Koltermann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Koltermann, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Koltermann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Koltermann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (8.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Koltermann (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 Koltermann mean?
Surname referring to someone from a settlement or farm of a person named Kolter or Kolters. 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 Koltermann (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 Koltermann?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Koltermann is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.