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

Kool, 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 Kool surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kool in America

Kool is the 38948th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kool surname appeared 566 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 Kool.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kool 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 Kool

The surname Kool traces its origins to the Netherlands, where it is believed to have emerged during the medieval period. It is derived from the Dutch word "koel," which means "cool" or "cold." This suggests that the name might have been descriptive, perhaps referring to someone with a calm or composed demeanor, or possibly linked to a geographical location associated with cooler temperatures.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kool surname can be found in the Dutch province of Friesland, where a certain Doede Kool was mentioned in historical records dating back to the 15th century. The name also appeared in various municipal records and church registers across the Netherlands throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

During the Dutch Golden Age, the Kool family played a notable role in the maritime trade and exploration endeavors of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). In 1642, Pieter Kool, a skilled navigator, was part of the crew that discovered the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Another Kool, Jan Kool, served as a captain in the VOC and is documented to have made several voyages to the East Indies in the late 17th century.

In the realm of Dutch art, the painter Johannes Kool (1650-1712) gained recognition for his vibrant still-life paintings and portraiture. His works can be found in prestigious collections, such as the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

As the Dutch expanded their influence globally, the Kool surname spread to various parts of the world, including South Africa, where Hendrik Kool (1768-1842) was a prominent landowner and farmer in the Cape Colony.

Another notable figure bearing the Kool surname was Willem Kool (1827-1895), a Dutch politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1892 to 1894.

While the Kool surname has its roots in the Netherlands, it has since been adopted by families across various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, where Dutch immigrants and their descendants have settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kool

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

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

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

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