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

Kot, 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 Kot surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kot in America

Kot is the 18337th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kot surname appeared 1,511 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 Kot.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kot 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 Kot

The surname KOT is believed to have originated in Poland, where it is a common last name. It is derived from the Polish word "kot," which means "cat." The name likely originated as a nickname for someone who had a cat-like appearance or behavior, or perhaps worked with cats in some capacity.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname KOT can be traced back to the 14th century in Polish historical records. The name appears in various documents and manuscripts from that time period, including church records and tax rolls.

One notable early bearer of the surname KOT was Jan Kot, a Polish nobleman who lived in the 15th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Casimir IV Jagiellon and owned large estates in the region of Greater Poland.

Another famous individual with the surname KOT was Stanisław Kot, a Polish historian and diplomat who lived from 1885 to 1975. He was a professor at the University of Krakow and served as the Polish ambassador to the Vatican from 1936 to 1939.

In the 16th century, the surname KOT was also found in various place names across Poland, such as the village of Kotowo, which means "place of cats" or "cat village." This suggests that the name was well-established and widespread by that time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname KOT in a significant historical document is in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth dating back to the 15th century. The name appears multiple times in these records, indicating its presence among the nobility and gentry of the region.

Another notable bearer of the surname KOT was Feliks Kot, a Polish military officer who lived from 1885 to 1975. He fought in World War I and later became a brigadier general in the Polish Army during the interwar period.

While the surname KOT is most commonly associated with Poland, it has also been found in other Central and Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine and Belarus, likely due to migration and cultural exchange in the region over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kot

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

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

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

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