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

Koonce, 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 Koonce surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Koonce in America

Koonce is the 5878th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Koonce surname appeared 5,870 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Koonce.

We can also compare 2010 data for Koonce 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 Koonce

The surname Koonce has its origins in Germany and dates back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Kunz," which was a diminutive form of the name Konrad or Conrad. This name was particularly prevalent in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Koonce can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, where a certain Hans Kunz is mentioned in an entry dated 1529. It is likely that the name Kunz evolved into Koonce as families migrated and the spelling adapted to different regional dialects.

In the 17th century, the name Koonce appears in various records across southern Germany, with notable individuals such as Johann Koonce, a farmer from the village of Oberstenfeld, who was born in 1642 and died in 1712. Another early bearer of the name was Maria Koonce, a resident of the town of Schwäbisch Hall, whose birth is recorded in 1673.

As the centuries progressed, some members of the Koonce family migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One notable figure was Wilhelm Koonce, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the late 18th century. He was born in 1755 in the town of Heilbronn and passed away in 1832 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

In the 19th century, the Koonce name gained prominence in the United States, with several individuals making significant contributions to various fields. One such individual was Jacob Koonce, a businessman and politician from North Carolina, born in 1818 and died in 1892. He served as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly and was involved in the state's railroad and banking industries.

Another notable bearer of the Koonce name was William A. Koonce, an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Born in 1838 in Tennessee, he served in the Confederate Army and later became a prominent lawyer and judge in Texas, where he passed away in 1917.

While the Koonce surname has its roots in Germany and has been present across various regions over the centuries, it has also been embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds, making it a truly global name with a rich and diverse history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Koonce

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

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

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

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