2000
#13,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,992
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Kreps
A surname derived from the German word "Krebs," meaning crab or crustacean.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,156 Americans carry the last name Kreps. That puts it at #15,069 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 158,977 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kreps 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
2.2K
1 in 158,977
Census rank
#15,069
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,880 bearers of the surname Kreps in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15069th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreps, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kreps
The surname Kreps is of German origin, with its roots dating back to the 16th century. The name is believed to have derived from the German word "Krebs," which means "crab" or "cancer" in English. This connection suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname, perhaps referring to someone with a crab-like appearance or behavior.
The earliest known record of the name Kreps can be found in the German state of Bavaria, where it was documented in the town of Nuremberg in the late 1500s. It is believed that the name spread from this region to other parts of Germany and eventually to other parts of Europe and beyond.
One notable historical figure with the surname Kreps was Johann Baptist Kreps, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1599 to 1663. His works, which included religious paintings and engravings, can still be found in various museums and collections throughout Europe.
In the 18th century, the Kreps name appeared in several records from the Palatinate region of Germany, which was a major source of emigration to the American colonies. It is likely that some Kreps families made their way to the New World during this time, contributing to the spread of the name across the Atlantic.
Another prominent individual with the surname Kreps was Theodore J. Kreps, an American economist and academic who served as the United States Secretary of Commerce under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1979. He was born in 1919 and passed away in 1992.
Moving into the 19th century, the name Kreps can be found in various historical records from countries such as France and the Netherlands, indicating the spread of the name across Europe. One notable example is Willem Kreps, a Dutch painter who lived from 1808 to 1876 and was known for his landscape and genre paintings.
As the 20th century dawned, the Kreps surname continued to be represented across different fields and professions. One such individual was Michael Kreps, an American mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the fields of probability theory and game theory. He was born in 1926 and passed away in 1988.
Throughout history, the surname Kreps has been associated with various place names and spellings, such as Krebbs, Krebs, and Krepps. While the name may have evolved over time, its German roots and connection to the word "Krebs" have remained a consistent thread throughout its history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kreps
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreps, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Kreps 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 Kreps surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 1,710
- Two or more races3.7% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 47
- Black or African American1.7% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kreps
Kreps 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
#15,409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,901
-91 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 1,507 places
2020
#15,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,880
-21 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Up 340 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,902 | 1,992 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,409 | 1,901 | 0.64 | -91 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 1,507 places |
| 2020 | #15,069 | 1,880 | 0.63 | -21 bearers (-1.1%) | Up 340 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 Kreps 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 | #15,409 | #15,069 | 2.2% |
| Count | 1,901 | 1,880 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.63 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kreps bearers went from 1,901 to 1,880 (-1.1% change). The surname moved up 340 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,409 to #15,069.
FAQ
Kreps surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kreps?
Name Census estimates that about 2,156 living Americans carry the surname Kreps. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 158,977 residents.
How common is Kreps?
Kreps ranks #15,069 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,880 people with the surname Kreps. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,156), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Kreps.
Has Kreps become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kreps went from 1,901 recorded bearers to 1,880. That is a decrease of 21 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,409 to #15,069.
What does the Census say about the background of Kreps?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreps, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Kreps in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (1,710 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kreps appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Kreps (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 Kreps mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Krebs," meaning crab or crustacean. 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 Kreps (0.63 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 Kreps?
Want to know how many people are called Kreps? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.