2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kortlever
A Dutch surname meaning "short-lived" or referring to someone with a short lifespan.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Kortlever. That puts it at #150,452 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kortlever 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.
Kortlever appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#150,452
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Kortlever in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150452nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kortlever, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kortlever
The surname Kortlever has its origins in the Netherlands, tracing back to the early modern period. It is derived from the Dutch words "kort" meaning short and "lever" meaning liver, potentially referring to an ancestor with a small or compact physical stature. Alternatively, it may have been a descriptive nickname for someone with an illness or condition affecting the liver.
Some of the earliest documented instances of the Kortlever surname can be found in Dutch municipal records and church registers from the 16th and 17th centuries, primarily concentrated in the provinces of North Holland and South Holland. Variations in spelling, such as Kortlever, Kortliever, and Kortlever, were common during this era.
One notable mention of the name Kortlever is in the historical work "Beschryving der Stadt Delft" by Dirck van Bleyswijck, published in 1667. This book, which chronicles the history of the city of Delft, includes a reference to a certain Pieter Kortlever, a prominent citizen and merchant active in the early 17th century.
Another early recorded bearer of the Kortlever name was Jan Kortlever, a Dutch Golden Age painter born in 1624 in Delft. He was known for his genre scenes and portraits, and his works can be found in various museum collections throughout the Netherlands.
During the 18th century, the Kortlever surname spread beyond the Netherlands, with some families migrating to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One such individual was Cornelis Kortlever, a Dutch merchant who settled in Batavia (present-day Jakarta, Indonesia) in the 1730s and became involved in the Dutch East India Company's trade operations.
In the 19th century, a notable figure bearing the Kortlever surname was Gerrit Kortlever, a Dutch politician and lawyer born in 1822 in Amsterdam. He served as a member of the Dutch Parliament and was involved in legal reforms during the latter part of the century.
Another individual of note was Johannes Kortlever, a Dutch theologian and author born in 1864 in Sliedrecht. He wrote extensively on religious and philosophical topics, and his works were widely read and debated during his lifetime.
As the Kortlever name continued to spread globally, it was carried by individuals such as Pieter Kortlever, a Dutch-American engineer who played a role in the construction of the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, and Hendrik Kortlever, a Dutch-Australian businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to cultural institutions in Sydney during the mid-20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kortlever
Among Census respondents with the surname Kortlever, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%.
The bar chart below shows how Kortlever bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Kortlever surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5%
- Unknown or suppressed5.5%
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kortlever
Kortlever appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-12 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,833 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 20,833 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
2000 vs 2010 Census
How has the Kortlever surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20002010
| Metric | 2000 | 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #129,619 | #150,452 | -16.1% |
| Count | 121 | 109 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.0% |
Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, the number of Kortlever bearers went from 121 to 109 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 20,833 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,619 to #150,452.
FAQ
Kortlever surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kortlever?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Kortlever. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Kortlever?
Kortlever ranks #150,452 in the 2010 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 2010 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Kortlever. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), 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 Kortlever.
Has Kortlever become more or less common over time?
Between 2000 and 2010, the surname Kortlever went from 121 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,619 to #150,452.
What does the Census say about the background of Kortlever?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kortlever, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. These figures come from the 2010 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 Kortlever in the 2010 Census, accounting for 94.5%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kortlever appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (94.5%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Kortlever appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Kortlever mean?
A Dutch surname meaning "short-lived" or referring to someone with a short lifespan. 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 2010 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 Kortlever (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 Kortlever?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.