2000
#111,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 147
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kozer
A Ukrainian occupational surname potentially referring to a goat herder or goatherd.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Kozer. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kozer 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Kozer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kozer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kozer
The surname Kozer has its origins in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where it emerged in the 13th century as a variation of the name Kozar. The name is derived from the Czech word "koza," meaning "goat," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have been goatherds or had some association with goats.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kozer can be found in the Bohemian records of 1369, where a certain Jan Kozer is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Cesky Krumlov. This indicates that by the 14th century, the Kozer family had already established itself as a prominent presence in the region.
In the 16th century, the name Kozer appeared in the Moravian Land Tables, which were official records of land ownership and transactions in the region of Moravia. This suggests that the Kozer family had expanded its influence and holdings across various parts of what is now the Czech Republic.
One notable bearer of the Kozer name was Jakub Kozer (1540-1612), a Czech Renaissance humanist, writer, and poet. He was renowned for his works in Latin and Czech, and his contributions to the literary and intellectual life of the region during the Renaissance period.
Another prominent figure was Jan Kozer (1678-1741), a Czech architect and builder who was responsible for the construction of several churches and buildings in the Baroque style across Bohemia and Moravia. His most famous work is the Church of St. Michael in Olomouc, which is considered a masterpiece of Baroque architecture.
In the 19th century, the Kozer name was also found in the German-speaking regions of what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. One example is Franz Kozer (1821-1892), an Austrian painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and genre scenes depicting rural life in the Austrian countryside.
As the Kozer family dispersed across different regions, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, such as Kozer, Kozar, and Kozar. However, the core meaning and origins of the name remained rooted in the Czech and Slovak lands, where it first appeared centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kozer
Among Census respondents with the surname Kozer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kozer 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 Kozer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.7% · 96
- Two or more races4.7% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kozer
Kozer 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-34 bearers (-23.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 35,082 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-6 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,438 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #111,119 | 147 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -34 bearers (-23.1%) | Down 35,082 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 5,438 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 Kozer 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 | #146,201 | #151,639 | -3.7% |
| Count | 113 | 107 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kozer bearers went from 113 to 107 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 5,438 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #151,639.
FAQ
Kozer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kozer?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Kozer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Kozer?
Kozer ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Kozer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Kozer.
Has Kozer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kozer went from 113 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Kozer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kozer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Kozer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kozer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.7%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Kozer (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 Kozer mean?
A Ukrainian occupational surname potentially referring to a goat herder or goatherd. 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 Kozer (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 are called Kozer?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Kozer, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.