2000
#9,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,161
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.17
Rare Last name
Kost
A surname of German origin, derived from the word "kost" meaning "food, fare, or board."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,418 Americans carry the last name Kost. That puts it at #10,282 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,279 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kost 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
3.4K
1 in 100,279
Census rank
#10,282
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,981 bearers of the surname Kost in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10282nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kost, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kost
Among Census respondents with the surname Kost, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kost 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 Kost surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 2,748
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 92
- Two or more races2.7% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 19
- Black or African American0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kost
Kost 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
#9,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,522
+361 bearers (+11.4%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Up 193 places
2020
#10,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,981
-541 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 1,041 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,434 | 3,161 | 1.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,241 | 3,522 | 1.19 | +361 bearers (+11.4%) | Up 193 places |
| 2020 | #10,282 | 2,981 | 1.00 | -541 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 1,041 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 Kost 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 | #9,241 | #10,282 | -11.3% |
| Count | 3,522 | 2,981 | -15.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.00 | -16.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kost bearers went from 3,522 to 2,981 (-15.4% change). The surname moved down 1,041 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,241 to #10,282.
FAQ
Kost surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kost?
Name Census estimates that about 3,418 living Americans carry the surname Kost. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,279 residents.
How common is Kost?
Kost ranks #10,282 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,981 people with the surname Kost. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,418), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Kost.
Has Kost become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kost went from 3,522 recorded bearers to 2,981. That is a decrease of 541 (-15.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,241 to #10,282.
What does the Census say about the background of Kost?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kost, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kost in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (2,748 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kost appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kost (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 Kost mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from the word "kost" meaning "food, fare, or board." 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 Kost (1.00 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 last name Kost?
You can see how many people are called Kost on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.