2000
#108,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 151
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Kotzian
A surname of German origin meaning an inhabitant or native of Kotzian.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 177 Americans carry the last name Kotzian. That puts it at #119,015 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,936,465 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kotzian 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
177
1 in 1,936,465
Census rank
#119,015
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
154
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 154 bearers of the surname Kotzian in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 119015th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kotzian, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kotzian
The surname KOTZIAN is of German origin, emerging in the medieval era around the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the German word "Kotze," which referred to a hut or a small house, indicating that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who resided in such dwellings.
The earliest known record of the KOTZIAN name can be traced back to the city of Cologne, where it appears in a manuscript from the year 1289, referring to a certain Henrich Kotzian, a merchant dealing in textile goods. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.
Another historical reference to the KOTZIAN name can be found in the Codex Manesse, a significant collection of medieval German poetry from the 13th and 14th centuries. This codex includes a poem by a poet named Heinz von Kotzian, providing further evidence of the name's existence during that period.
In the 16th century, the KOTZIAN name appears in the town records of Nuremberg, where a family by the name of Kotzian owned a successful bakery business. One notable member of this family was Hans Kotzian, born in 1542, who was renowned for his exquisite pastry creations and contributed to the culinary traditions of the region.
The KOTZIAN name also gained prominence in the realm of academia, with Johannes Kotzian (1610-1678), a renowned philosopher and theologian from the University of Leipzig. His influential works on metaphysics and ethics were widely studied and discussed during his time.
Another notable figure bearing the KOTZIAN surname was Elise Kotzian (1785-1864), a German painter and illustrator celebrated for her intricate botanical illustrations. Her detailed depictions of various plant species were highly acclaimed and contributed significantly to the field of botanical art in the 19th century.
As the KOTZIAN name spread across German-speaking regions, it underwent slight variations in spelling, with forms such as Kotzian, Kotzien, and Kotzahn being observed in historical records from different areas. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained consistent throughout its evolution.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kotzian
Among Census respondents with the surname Kotzian, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kotzian 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 Kotzian surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 145
- Two or more races2.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 2
- Black or African American0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kotzian
Kotzian 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
#112,568
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 156
+5 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 3,834 places
2020
#119,015
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 154
-2 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 6,447 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #108,734 | 151 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #112,568 | 156 | 0.05 | +5 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 3,834 places |
| 2020 | #119,015 | 154 | 0.05 | -2 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 6,447 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 Kotzian 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 | #112,568 | #119,015 | -5.7% |
| Count | 156 | 154 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kotzian bearers went from 156 to 154 (-1.3% change). The surname moved down 6,447 positions in the national ranking, going from #112,568 to #119,015.
FAQ
Kotzian surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kotzian?
Name Census estimates that about 177 living Americans carry the surname Kotzian. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,936,465 residents.
How common is Kotzian?
Kotzian ranks #119,015 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 2020 Census file counted 154 people with the surname Kotzian. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (177), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Kotzian.
Has Kotzian become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kotzian went from 156 recorded bearers to 154. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #112,568 to #119,015.
What does the Census say about the background of Kotzian?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kotzian, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Kotzian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kotzian appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Kotzian (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 Kotzian mean?
A surname of German origin meaning an inhabitant or native of Kotzian. 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 Kotzian (0.05 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 Kotzian?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.