2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kopish
A surname deriving from a personal name or occupational term meaning "cup maker" or "cup seller".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Kopish. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kopish 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Kopish in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kopish, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kopish
The surname Kopish has its origins traced back to the Central European region, specifically the areas that are now part of modern-day Poland and Germany. It is believed to have emerged during the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century.
The name Kopish is thought to be derived from the Old Polish word "kopa," which referred to a heap or mound. This suggests that the name may have initially been used to identify individuals who lived near a distinctive mound or hill, or perhaps those who worked as mound builders or earthworkers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kopish surname can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of historical court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, dating back to the 16th century. In these records, a certain Jan Kopish is mentioned in relation to a land dispute in the year 1567.
Another notable early reference to the name comes from the Prussian town of Marienburg (now Malbork, Poland), where a burgher named Hans Kopisch is documented as having lived in the late 15th century. This suggests that the name had already spread across various regions of Central Europe by that time.
In the 17th century, a German Protestant theologian and philosopher named Johann Baptist Kopisch (1592-1669) gained recognition for his writings on ethics and natural law. He was born in the town of Schöningen, in what is now Lower Saxony, Germany.
During the 18th century, the Kopish surname appeared in various records across Prussia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable figure was Franciszek Kopisch (1737-1817), a Polish nobleman and landowner from the Podolia region (now part of Ukraine).
In the 19th century, the German writer and traveler Karl Kopisch (1813-1858) gained fame for his poetic works and travelogues, which documented his journeys through Italy, Greece, and the Middle East.
Other historical figures bearing the Kopish surname include the Polish painter and illustrator Zygmunt Kopisch (1848-1925), known for his depictions of rural life and landscapes, and the German-American artist and sculptor Carl Kopisch (1854-1942), who contributed to several notable public works in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kopish
Among Census respondents with the surname Kopish, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kopish 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 Kopish surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 105
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kopish
Kopish 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,791 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 807 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 12,791 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 807 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 Kopish 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 | #151,532 | #152,339 | -0.5% |
| Count | 108 | 106 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kopish bearers went from 108 to 106 (-1.9% change). The surname moved down 807 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #152,339.
FAQ
Kopish surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kopish?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Kopish. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Kopish?
Kopish ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Kopish. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Kopish.
Has Kopish become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kopish went from 108 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Kopish?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kopish, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Kopish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kopish appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Kopish (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 Kopish mean?
A surname deriving from a personal name or occupational term meaning "cup maker" or "cup seller". 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 Kopish (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 Kopish?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.