2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kralovec
A surname of Czech origin, possibly derived from the word 'král' meaning 'king'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Kralovec. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kralovec 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Kralovec in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kralovec, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kralovec
The surname Kralovec is of Czech origin, with its roots tracing back to the 9th century in the region of Bohemia, which is now part of the modern-day Czech Republic. The name is derived from the Slavic words "kral" meaning "king" and "ovec" meaning "shepherd," suggesting that the original bearers of this name were likely royal shepherds or those who tended to the king's flocks.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Kralovec name can be found in the Chronica Polonorum, a medieval chronicle written in the late 12th century by Polish historian Wincenty Kadłubek. This document mentions a nobleman named Kralovecz, who was a member of the court of King Wladyslaw I of Poland.
In the 14th century, the name Kralovec appeared in various legal documents and land registries in the regions of Bohemia and Moravia. One such record from 1372 mentions a certain Jan Kralovec, who was a landowner in the village of Velké Pavlovice, near the city of Brno.
During the 15th century, the Kralovec family gained prominence in the region of Silesia, which was then part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Historical records from this period mention a prominent figure named Václav Kralovec (c. 1420 - 1498), who was a respected scholar and theologian at the University of Prague.
In the 16th century, a member of the Kralovec family named Mikuláš Kralovec (c. 1510 - 1578) achieved recognition as a skilled architect and builder. He is credited with designing and overseeing the construction of several notable buildings in Prague, including the Church of St. Martin in the Wall.
Another notable bearer of the Kralovec surname was Jan Kralovec (1630 - 1697), a Baroque painter and fresco artist who worked extensively in churches and monasteries throughout Bohemia and Moravia during the 17th century.
The Kralovec name can also be traced to various place names in the Czech Republic, such as the villages of Kralovice and Kralovice nad Oslavou, which likely derived their names from early settlers bearing the Kralovec surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kralovec
Among Census respondents with the surname Kralovec, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kralovec 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 Kralovec surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 114
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kralovec
Kralovec 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,366 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,121 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 6,366 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 1,121 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 Kralovec 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 | #143,149 | #144,270 | -0.8% |
| Count | 116 | 117 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kralovec bearers went from 116 to 117 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,121 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #144,270.
FAQ
Kralovec surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kralovec?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Kralovec. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Kralovec?
Kralovec ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Kralovec. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Kralovec.
Has Kralovec become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kralovec went from 116 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Kralovec?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kralovec, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Kralovec in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kralovec appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Black (0.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Kralovec (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 Kralovec mean?
A surname of Czech origin, possibly derived from the word 'král' meaning 'king'. 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 Kralovec (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 common is the surname Kralovec?
Want to know how many people have the last name Kralovec? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.