2000
#7,106
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,335
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.61
Rare Last name
Kroeger
A German occupational surname referring to a tavern keeper, innkeeper, or a person who owns a pub.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,922 Americans carry the last name Kroeger. That puts it at #7,484 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 69,637 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kroeger 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
4.9K
1 in 69,637
Census rank
#7,484
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,292 bearers of the surname Kroeger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7484th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kroeger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kroeger
The surname Kroeger originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the occupational name "Kroger," meaning "innkeeper" or "tavern keeper." The name is believed to have originated in the northern German regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia, where many early Kroeger families were innkeepers or operated taverns.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kroeger is found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Hannover, Germany, where a Johann Kroeger was mentioned in 1562. The name also appears in the Bürgerbücher (citizen registers) of various towns in Lower Saxony and Westphalia throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Kroeger surname has variant spellings such as Krüger, Krüeger, and Krueger, which reflect regional dialect differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. Some of these variants may have originated from place names like Krügersdorf or Krügerau, where early Kroeger families established roots.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure named Johann Friedrich Kroeger (1759-1827) was a German philologist and scholar who published works on ancient Greek literature and language. Another notable Kroeger was Johann Gottfried Kroeger (1783-1854), a German theologian and author of numerous religious texts.
During the 19th century, many Kroeger families immigrated to the United States, particularly to the Midwestern states like Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri. One of the early Kroeger settlers was Wilhelm Kroeger (1810-1892), who arrived in Wisconsin in the 1850s and established a successful farming community.
Another prominent figure with the Kroeger surname was August Kroeger (1875-1958), a German-American architect and designer who is best known for his work on the iconic St. Louis Union Station in Missouri. His buildings and structures can be found across various cities in the United States.
The surname Kroeger has also been associated with several influential musicians and artists throughout history. One such figure was Ernst Kroeger (1862-1934), a German-American pianist and composer who taught at renowned music conservatories in the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kroeger
Among Census respondents with the surname Kroeger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Kroeger 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 Kroeger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 4,016
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 115
- Two or more races2.2% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 35
- Black or African American0.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kroeger
Kroeger 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
#7,552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,402
+67 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Down 446 places
2020
#7,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,292
-110 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Up 68 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,106 | 4,335 | 1.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,552 | 4,402 | 1.49 | +67 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 446 places |
| 2020 | #7,484 | 4,292 | 1.44 | -110 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 68 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 Kroeger 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 | #7,552 | #7,484 | 0.9% |
| Count | 4,402 | 4,292 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.49 | 1.44 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kroeger bearers went from 4,402 to 4,292 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 68 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,552 to #7,484.
FAQ
Kroeger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kroeger?
Name Census estimates that about 4,922 living Americans carry the surname Kroeger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 69,637 residents.
How common is Kroeger?
Kroeger ranks #7,484 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.44 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 4,292 people with the surname Kroeger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,922), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.44 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 Kroeger.
Has Kroeger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kroeger went from 4,402 recorded bearers to 4,292. That is a decrease of 110 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,552 to #7,484.
What does the Census say about the background of Kroeger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kroeger, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (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 Kroeger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (4,016 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kroeger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (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 Kroeger (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 Kroeger mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a tavern keeper, innkeeper, or a person who owns a pub. 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 Kroeger (1.44 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 Kroeger?
See how many people have the last name Kroeger on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.