2000
#11,349
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,551
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Korth
Derived from the German word "kurz," meaning "short," likely referring to a person of small stature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,017 Americans carry the last name Korth. That puts it at #11,453 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,608 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Korth 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
3.0K
1 in 113,608
Census rank
#11,453
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,631 bearers of the surname Korth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11453rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Korth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Korth
The surname Korth is of German origin, deriving from the Old High German word "kortar," which means "shorter" or "small." This name originated in the Middle Ages, likely in the regions of present-day Germany or Austria.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Korth can be found in the Brottseder Matrikel, a medieval document from the 14th century that recorded the names of students and scholars at the University of Vienna. This suggests that the name was already established in the German-speaking regions during that time period.
In the 15th century, the name Korth appeared in various town records and tax rolls in the Rhineland region of Germany. This indicates that the name was particularly prevalent in that area, possibly due to its proximity to the Low Countries, where similar variants of the name, such as Kort and Korte, were also used.
The variant spelling "Kordt" was also common in the 16th and 17th centuries, as seen in several historical documents from the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, a state within the Holy Roman Empire. This spelling likely evolved from the original "Korth" due to regional dialect differences.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Korth include:
1. Hans Korth (c. 1490-1558), a German Renaissance painter known for his religious works and portraits.
2. Johann Korth (1642-1701), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Brandenburg.
3. Friedrich Korth (1807-1878), a Prussian statesman and politician who served as the Minister of Commerce and Public Works.
4. Theodor Korth (1828-1895), a German philologist and linguist who specialized in the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts.
5. Wilhelm Korth (1863-1945), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other German cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Korth is not as widespread as some other German surnames, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and can be traced back to its linguistic origins in the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Korth
Among Census respondents with the surname Korth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Korth 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 Korth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 2,428
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 89
- Two or more races3.2% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- Black or African American0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Korth
Korth 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
#10,211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,156
+605 bearers (+23.7%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 1,138 places
2020
#11,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,631
-525 bearers (-16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 1,242 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,349 | 2,551 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,211 | 3,156 | 1.07 | +605 bearers (+23.7%) | Up 1,138 places |
| 2020 | #11,453 | 2,631 | 0.88 | -525 bearers (-16.6%) | Down 1,242 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 Korth 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 | #10,211 | #11,453 | -12.2% |
| Count | 3,156 | 2,631 | -16.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 0.88 | -17.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Korth bearers went from 3,156 to 2,631 (-16.6% change). The surname moved down 1,242 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,211 to #11,453.
FAQ
Korth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Korth?
Name Census estimates that about 3,017 living Americans carry the surname Korth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,608 residents.
How common is Korth?
Korth ranks #11,453 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,631 people with the surname Korth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,017), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Korth.
Has Korth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Korth went from 3,156 recorded bearers to 2,631. That is a decrease of 525 (-16.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,211 to #11,453.
What does the Census say about the background of Korth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Korth, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Korth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (2,428 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Korth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Korth (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 Korth mean?
Derived from the German word "kurz," meaning "short," likely referring to a person of small stature. 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 Korth (0.88 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 surname Korth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.