2000
#15,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,710
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Kreis
A toponymic surname derived from the German word "Kreis" referring to someone from a particular region or administrative district.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,057 Americans carry the last name Kreis. That puts it at #15,671 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,628 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kreis 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
2.1K
1 in 166,628
Census rank
#15,671
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,794 bearers of the surname Kreis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15671st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreis, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kreis
The surname Kreis originated in Germany and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Kreis," which means "circle" or "district." The name was likely initially given to someone who lived within a particular administrative district or circle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kreis can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 14th century. In this record, a certain "Henricus de Kreys" is mentioned.
During the Middle Ages, the Kreis surname was prevalent in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Saxony, Thuringia, and Bavaria. Some notable individuals with this surname from this period include Johannes Kreis, a scribe and monk who lived in the late 15th century, and Hans Kreis, a merchant and landowner from Nuremberg in the early 16th century.
As the name spread throughout Germany, variations in spelling occurred, such as Kreiss, Kreyss, and Kreyß. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal preferences.
In the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the Kreis surname was Johann Philipp Kreis, a German composer and organist born in 1653. He was renowned for his contributions to the development of Protestant church music.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Georg Ludwig Kreis, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1784. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 19th century, Karl Friedrich Kreis, a German artist and lithographer born in 1825, gained recognition for his landscape paintings and lithographic works depicting scenes from the Black Forest region.
Throughout history, the Kreis surname has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Kreisau, Kreischa, and Kreisau-Kreisewitz, further emphasizing its connection to administrative districts or regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kreis
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreis, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kreis 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 Kreis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 1,675
- Two or more races3.0% · 54
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kreis
Kreis 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
#16,385
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,757
+47 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 694 places
2020
#15,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,794
+37 bearers (+2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 714 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,691 | 1,710 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,385 | 1,757 | 0.60 | +47 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 694 places |
| 2020 | #15,671 | 1,794 | 0.60 | +37 bearers (+2.1%) | Up 714 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 Kreis 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 | #16,385 | #15,671 | 4.4% |
| Count | 1,757 | 1,794 | 2.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 0.60 | 0.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kreis bearers went from 1,757 to 1,794 (+2.1% change). The surname moved up 714 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,385 to #15,671.
FAQ
Kreis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kreis?
Name Census estimates that about 2,057 living Americans carry the surname Kreis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,628 residents.
How common is Kreis?
Kreis ranks #15,671 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,794 people with the surname Kreis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,057), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kreis.
Has Kreis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kreis went from 1,757 recorded bearers to 1,794. That is an increase of 37 (+2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,385 to #15,671.
What does the Census say about the background of Kreis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreis, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Kreis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (1,675 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kreis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Kreis (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 Kreis mean?
A toponymic surname derived from the German word "Kreis" referring to someone from a particular region or administrative district. 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 Kreis (0.60 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 Americans have the surname Kreis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.