2000
#29,932
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 740
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.27
Rare Last name
Kone
A Swedish surname derived from a location name, likely referring to a house or place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,693 Americans carry the last name Kone. That puts it at #12,579 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 127,276 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kone 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kone with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 127,276
Census rank
#12,579
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,348 bearers of the surname Kone in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12579th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kone, the largest self-reported group is Black at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kone
The surname Kone originates from Finland, with its earliest known bearers living in the southwestern part of the country during the 16th century. The name is derived from the Finnish word "kone," meaning "machine" or "device," suggesting it may have been an occupational surname for someone who worked with machinery or operated mechanical devices.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kone can be found in the parish records of Turku, Finland, dating back to the late 1500s. These records mention a man named Matti Kone, who was likely a craftsman or tradesman involved in the operation or maintenance of machinery.
In the 17th century, the name Kone appeared in several historical documents from the region, including tax records and land registers. One notable figure from this period was Jaakko Kone, a skilled millwright born in 1632 in the town of Pori, who was renowned for his expertise in constructing and repairing watermills.
As Finland urbanized in the 19th century, the Kone surname became more prevalent, particularly in the industrial centers of Helsinki and Tampere. During this time, a prominent figure bearing the name was Juho Kone (1825-1892), a pioneering engineer and inventor who designed and built some of the country's first steam-powered machines.
Another notable individual with the surname Kone was Väinö Kone (1870-1938), a successful businessman and industrialist who founded the Kone Corporation, one of Finland's largest companies specializing in the manufacture of elevators, escalators, and other industrial equipment. His legacy has been carried on by subsequent generations of the Kone family, who have continued to play a significant role in the company's operations and expansion.
Other historical figures with the Kone surname include Aino Kone (1892-1976), a renowned Finnish artist known for her landscape paintings and portraiture, and Tauno Kone (1912-1988), a respected architect who designed several landmark buildings in Helsinki and other Finnish cities.
While the surname Kone has its roots in Finland, it has also been adopted by individuals of Finnish descent living in other countries, particularly in North America and Sweden, where Finnish communities have established themselves over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kone
Among Census respondents with the surname Kone, the largest self-reported group is Black at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kone 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 Kone surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.4% · 1,795
- White14.7% · 345
- Two or more races4.2% · 99
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kone
Kone 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
#19,027
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,431
+691 bearers (+93.4%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Up 10,905 places
2020
#12,579
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,348
+917 bearers (+64.1%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 6,448 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #29,932 | 740 | 0.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,027 | 1,431 | 0.49 | +691 bearers (+93.4%) | Up 10,905 places |
| 2020 | #12,579 | 2,348 | 0.79 | +917 bearers (+64.1%) | Up 6,448 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 Kone 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 | #19,027 | #12,579 | 33.9% |
| Count | 1,431 | 2,348 | 64.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.79 | 60.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kone bearers went from 1,431 to 2,348 (+64.1% change). The surname moved up 6,448 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,027 to #12,579.
FAQ
Kone surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kone?
Name Census estimates that about 2,693 living Americans carry the surname Kone. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 127,276 residents.
How common is Kone?
Kone ranks #12,579 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,348 people with the surname Kone. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,693), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Kone.
Has Kone become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kone went from 1,431 recorded bearers to 2,348. That is an increase of 917 (+64.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #19,027 to #12,579.
What does the Census say about the background of Kone?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kone, the largest self-reported group is Black at 76.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kone in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (1,795 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kone appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (76.4%), White (14.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Kone (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 Kone mean?
A Swedish surname derived from a location name, likely referring to a house or place name. 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 Kone (0.79 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 Kone?
Find out how many people are called Kone on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.