Find out how popular the last name Krey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Krey.

Krey, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Krey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Krey in America

Krey is the 25202nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Krey surname appeared 983 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Krey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Krey to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Krey

The surname Krey originated in Germany and is derived from the Middle High German word "krei", which means "circle" or "ring". The name was likely first used as a toponymic surname, referring to someone who lived near a circular or ring-shaped landform, such as a round hill or a curved bend in a river.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Krey can be found in the Buch der Straßburger Bürgernamen, a 14th-century register of citizens' names in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the late Middle Ages.

In the 16th century, the name appears in several historical documents from the German states, such as the Bürgerbuch der Stadt Heidelberg, a citizen's register from the city of Heidelberg, and the Kirchenbücher von Nürnberg, church records from Nuremberg.

One notable bearer of the Krey surname was Johann Samuel Krey (1692-1765), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Leipzig and authored several influential works on civil and canon law.

Another historically significant figure was Theodor Krey (1815-1873), a German-American soldier and civil engineer who fought in the Prussian army before emigrating to the United States, where he served as a Union officer during the American Civil War and later worked on the construction of railroads and bridges.

In the Netherlands, the surname Krey is sometimes found spelled as "Kreij" or "Kreijen". One prominent Dutch bearer was Cornelis Kreijen (1572-1633), a painter and engraver who is best known for his etchings of landscapes and architectural scenes.

In the 19th century, the name Krey appeared in several literary works, such as the novel "Der Krey-Bauer" by the German author Wilhelm Raabe (1831-1910), which featured a character with the surname Krey.

Lastly, a notable 20th-century bearer of the name was Hans Krey (1899-1970), a German politician and trade unionist who served as a member of the Bundestag, the federal parliament of West Germany, from 1949 to 1965, representing the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Krey

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Krey.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Krey was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Krey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Krey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Krey, please contact us.

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