2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Koukal
A Czech surname derived from the word "koukati" meaning "to gaze" or "to look".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Koukal. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Koukal 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Koukal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Koukal, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Koukal
The surname Koukal is of Czech origin and can be traced back to the late medieval period in the regions of Bohemia and Moravia, which are now part of the modern-day Czech Republic. It is believed to have derived from the Czech word "koukati," which means "to peek" or "to glance." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who worked as a watchman or guard, or perhaps someone who had a habit of peering or glancing around.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Koukal can be found in the Bohemian town of Litomerice, where a certain Jan Koukal was mentioned in a local registry from the year 1495. Another early reference comes from the village of Velké Meziříčí, where a man named Václav Koukal was listed in a land deed from 1532.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Koukal began to appear in various administrative records and church registers across Bohemia and Moravia. For example, a Jakub Koukal was born in the town of Jičín in 1572, while a Dorota Koukalová (the feminine form of the surname) was recorded as a resident of the village of Čechtice in 1643.
One notable individual with the surname Koukal was Jan Koukal (1634-1709), a Czech Catholic priest and theologian who served as a canon of the Archdiocese of Prague. He was known for his scholarly work on canon law and moral theology.
Another historically significant figure was Josef Koukal (1772-1845), a Czech artist and painter who specialized in religious and historical scenes. Some of his works can still be found in churches and museums throughout the Czech Republic.
In the 19th century, the Koukal surname began to spread beyond the borders of the Czech lands as people emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One such individual was Tomáš Koukal (1828-1891), a Czech-American farmer and settler who established a homestead in Calhoun County, Iowa, in the 1860s.
Another notable example is Bohumil Koukal (1897-1984), a Czech-American inventor and engineer who patented several innovative designs for agricultural machinery and equipment during the early 20th century.
Over the centuries, the surname Koukal has also been subject to various spellings and variations, such as Koukol, Kaukal, and Kouckal, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic changes within the Czech language.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koukal
Among Census respondents with the surname Koukal, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Koukal 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 Koukal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Koukal
Koukal 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,950 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+9 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,012 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,950 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.5%) | Up 8,012 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 Koukal 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 | #153,769 | #145,757 | 5.2% |
| Count | 106 | 115 | 8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Koukal bearers went from 106 to 115 (+8.5% change). The surname moved up 8,012 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #145,757.
FAQ
Koukal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Koukal?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Koukal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Koukal?
Koukal ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Koukal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Koukal.
Has Koukal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Koukal went from 106 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 9 (+8.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Koukal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Koukal, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Koukal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Koukal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Hispanic (1.7%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Koukal (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 Koukal mean?
A Czech surname derived from the word "koukati" meaning "to gaze" or "to look". 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 Koukal (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 have the last name Koukal?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Koukal at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.