2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kreinheder
A German surname derived from a place name referring to the crane plant or heron.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Kreinheder. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kreinheder 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Kreinheder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreinheder, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kreinheder
The surname Kreinheder is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the early medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Weissenburg Codex, a 9th-century manuscript that contains a list of landowners and their properties. In this document, a certain "Kreinheder von Rothenburg" is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
The name Kreinheder is derived from the Old High German words "krein" and "heder," which translate to "crane" and "heather," respectively. It is thought to have originally been a descriptive surname, perhaps referring to someone who lived near a crane-inhabited area surrounded by heather.
In the 12th century, a nobleman named Heinrich Kreinheder was recorded as a vassal of the Count of Hohenzollern. This suggests that the Kreinheder family had gained some prominence and status by this time.
During the 13th century, the name appears in various legal documents and property records in the region of Swabia. One notable individual was Konrad Kreinheder, a merchant from Ulm who was involved in the lucrative trade of spices and silk along the Danube River.
In the late 15th century, a branch of the Kreinheder family settled in the town of Nürnberg, where they became respected members of the local guilds. Johann Kreinheder (1456-1523) was a renowned goldsmith and jeweler, whose works were sought after by wealthy patrons across Europe.
Another prominent figure was Katharina Kreinheder (1497-1562), who was a vocal supporter of the Protestant Reformation and provided shelter to persecuted reformers in her home. Her husband, Hans Kreinheder (1490-1567), was a successful merchant and alderman in the city of Augsburg.
As the centuries passed, the Kreinheder name spread throughout various regions of Germany and beyond, with some members of the family emigrating to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kreinheder
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreinheder, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kreinheder 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 Kreinheder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 4
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kreinheder
Kreinheder 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+8 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,352 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-6 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,557 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 1,352 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 6,557 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 Kreinheder 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 | #142,108 | #148,665 | -4.6% |
| Count | 117 | 111 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kreinheder bearers went from 117 to 111 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 6,557 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #148,665.
FAQ
Kreinheder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kreinheder?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Kreinheder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Kreinheder?
Kreinheder ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Kreinheder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Kreinheder.
Has Kreinheder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kreinheder went from 117 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Kreinheder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreinheder, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Kreinheder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kreinheder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%), Black (1.8%). 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 Kreinheder (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 Kreinheder mean?
A German surname derived from a place name referring to the crane plant or heron. 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 Kreinheder (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 Kreinheder?
Want to know how many people are called Kreinheder? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.