Kroc last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Kroc

A surname of Slavic origin meaning "hoof" or "hoofprint".

Kroc, 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 Kroc surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kroc in America

Kroc is the 141140th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kroc surname appeared 118 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 Kroc.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kroc 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 141140 124872 12.23%
Count 118 127 -7.35%
Proportion per 100k 0.04 0.05 -22.22%

The history of the last name Kroc

The surname KROC is believed to have originated in Germany during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the German word "krok," which means "hook" or "crook." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person's occupation or physical characteristic, perhaps someone who made or used hooks or crooks.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname KROC can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Großenkneten in Lower Saxony, Germany. In these records, a certain Hermen Kroc was mentioned in 1497. Additionally, the surname appears in various other historical documents from the region, such as tax rolls and land records.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name began to spread beyond its origins in Lower Saxony. Records show individuals with the surname KROC in other parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like the Netherlands and Denmark. This was likely due to migration and the movement of people during this period.

One notable individual with the surname KROC was Johann Kroc, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1590 to 1659. He was a professor at the University of Wittenberg and wrote several influential works on theology and logic.

Another figure of note was Matthias Kroc, a German artist and engraver who lived from 1653 to 1729. He is best known for his detailed engravings of landscapes and architectural scenes, many of which can be found in museums across Europe.

In the 19th century, the surname KROC began to appear more frequently outside of Germany, particularly in the United States. This was likely due to the wave of German immigration to America during this time period. One prominent individual with the name was Gustav Kroc, a German-American businessman who lived from 1841 to 1909. He founded the Kroc Brewing Company in Chicago, which was one of the largest breweries in the city at the time.

Finally, the most famous person with the surname KROC is undoubtedly Ray Kroc, the American businessman who helped build McDonald's into one of the largest fast-food chains in the world. Born in 1902 and died in 1984, Kroc was not the original founder of McDonald's, but he played a crucial role in expanding the company and developing its franchising model.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kroc

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

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 Kroc was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.92% 112
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Kroc has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.92% 92.91% 2.14%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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 Kroc was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Kroc last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 23, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kroc-surname-popularity/.

"Kroc last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kroc-surname-popularity/. Accessed 23 June, 2025

Kroc last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kroc-surname-popularity/.

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