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

Kost, 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 Kost surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kost in America

Kost is the 9241st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kost surname appeared 3,522 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kost.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kost 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 Kost

The surname KOST is of German origin and dates back to the early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Germanic word "kost," meaning "food" or "nourishment." This surname was likely initially given as a descriptive name to someone who worked in the food industry, such as a cook or a baker.

The name KOST can be traced back to various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. It is believed to have first appeared in written records as early as the 12th century, although the exact date is uncertain.

One of the earliest known references to the name KOST can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Silesia, which mentions a person named "Henricus Kost" in the year 1274.

In the 14th century, the name KOST appeared in the town records of Nuremberg, where a certain "Johannes Kost" was listed as a resident in 1387. This suggests that the name had already established itself in various parts of Germany by that time.

Another notable historical figure bearing the surname KOST was Johann Kost (1490-1546), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and contributed to the translation of the Bible into German.

In the 16th century, the name KOST was also found in the records of the city of Cologne, where a merchant named "Peter Kost" was mentioned in 1567. This indicates that the name had spread to different regions of Germany and was not confined to a specific area.

Other notable individuals with the surname KOST include:

1. Friedrich Kost (1828-1892), a German painter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.
2. Wilhelm Kost (1874-1953), a German architect known for his work in the Art Nouveau style.
3. Otto Kost (1888-1976), a German chess player and author of several books on chess strategy.
4. Helmut Kost (1920-2004), a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
5. Dieter Kost (born 1945), a German football player who played as a defender for various clubs in the Bundesliga.

While the surname KOST originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration and has taken on various spellings and variations in different languages and cultures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kost

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

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

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

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