2000
#11,512
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,508
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Krier
An occupational surname for a town crier, derived from the Old French word "criere" meaning "to cry out."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,868 Americans carry the last name Krier. That puts it at #11,950 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,510 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Krier 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
2.9K
1 in 119,510
Census rank
#11,950
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,501 bearers of the surname Krier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11950th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Krier, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Krier
The surname Krier is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Krie," meaning "crow" or "raven," and may have been given as a nickname to someone who had a dark complexion or hair color resembling that of a crow.
One of the earliest known references to the Krier name can be found in the records of the town of Darmstadt, in the German state of Hesse, where a certain Hans Krier was mentioned in a document dated 1583. Another early record comes from the nearby town of Offenbach, where a Johann Krier was born in 1612.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Krier surname began to spread across various regions of Germany, with families bearing this name found in areas such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. Some notable individuals from this period include Johann Georg Krier (1686-1754), a Lutheran pastor and scholar from Nuremberg, and Christoph Friedrich Krier (1722-1788), a renowned clockmaker from Dresden.
As the 19th century dawned, the Krier name continued to gain prominence, with several individuals making their mark in various fields. One such person was Karl Krier (1833-1911), a German painter and engraver who was born in the city of Mainz. Another notable figure was Max Krier (1857-1923), a German-born American architect who designed several iconic buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In the 20th century, the Krier surname gained international recognition through the work of Leon Krier (born 1946), a renowned Luxembourgish architect and urban theorist who has been influential in the development of the New Urbanism movement. Other notable individuals include Hans Krier (1940-2020), a German football player and manager, and Christiane Krier (born 1968), a German soprano and opera singer.
While the Krier surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with families bearing this name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, among others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Krier
Among Census respondents with the surname Krier, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Krier 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 Krier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 2,338
- Two or more races2.7% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Krier
Krier 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
#10,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,090
+582 bearers (+23.2%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Up 1,096 places
2020
#11,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,501
-589 bearers (-19.1%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 1,534 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,512 | 2,508 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,416 | 3,090 | 1.05 | +582 bearers (+23.2%) | Up 1,096 places |
| 2020 | #11,950 | 2,501 | 0.84 | -589 bearers (-19.1%) | Down 1,534 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 Krier 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 | #10,416 | #11,950 | -14.7% |
| Count | 3,090 | 2,501 | -19.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.05 | 0.84 | -20.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Krier bearers went from 3,090 to 2,501 (-19.1% change). The surname moved down 1,534 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,416 to #11,950.
FAQ
Krier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Krier?
Name Census estimates that about 2,868 living Americans carry the surname Krier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,510 residents.
How common is Krier?
Krier ranks #11,950 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,501 people with the surname Krier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,868), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Krier.
Has Krier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Krier went from 3,090 recorded bearers to 2,501. That is a decrease of 589 (-19.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,416 to #11,950.
What does the Census say about the background of Krier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Krier, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Krier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (2,338 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Krier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Krier (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 Krier mean?
An occupational surname for a town crier, derived from the Old French word "criere" meaning "to cry out." 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 Krier (0.84 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 are called Krier?
You can see how many people have the last name Krier on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.