2000
#8,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,818
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.42
Rare Last name
Krull
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Middle High German word "krul," meaning curly or lock of hair.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,424 Americans carry the last name Krull. That puts it at #8,220 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,476 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Krull 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
4.4K
1 in 77,476
Census rank
#8,220
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,858 bearers of the surname Krull in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8220th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Krull, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Krull
The surname Krull has its origins in Germany, believed to have emerged around the 13th century. It is derived from the Low German word "krull," meaning "curly" or "twisted," potentially referring to someone with curly hair or someone who worked with twisting materials like rope or thread.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Krull can be found in the Wörterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen (Dictionary of German Family Names) from the 16th century, where it is listed as a surname in various regions of Germany.
In the late 15th century, a record from the town of Menden in Westphalia mentions a certain Johannes Krull, a merchant and burgher of the town. This early reference suggests that the name was already established in that region by that time.
The Krull surname also appears in historical documents from the city of Cologne in the 16th century, indicating its presence in the Rhineland area. A notable figure from this period was Konrad Krull, a printer and publisher active in Cologne between 1538 and 1554.
In the 17th century, the name is found in records from the town of Bochum in the Ruhr region, where a family of the name Krull owned a farm and were influential members of the local community.
Another significant figure bearing the Krull surname was Johann Gottlieb Krull, a German composer and organist who lived from 1715 to 1792. He was born in Weissenfels, Saxony, and is known for his contributions to the development of the Lutheran choral tradition.
In the 19th century, a prominent individual with the surname Krull was Gustav Krull, a German writer and philosopher born in 1844 in Pomerania. He was known for his works exploring metaphysics and the philosophy of language.
The name Krull has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Krullendorf, a village in Thuringia, and Krullenhagen, a former municipality in Lower Saxony. These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname in those regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Krull
Among Census respondents with the surname Krull, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Krull 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 Krull surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 3,631
- Two or more races2.0% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 21
- Black or African American0.5% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Krull
Krull 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
#8,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,111
+293 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 44 places
2020
#8,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,858
-253 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 165 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,011 | 3,818 | 1.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,055 | 4,111 | 1.39 | +293 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 44 places |
| 2020 | #8,220 | 3,858 | 1.29 | -253 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 165 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 Krull 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 | #8,055 | #8,220 | -2.0% |
| Count | 4,111 | 3,858 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.29 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Krull bearers went from 4,111 to 3,858 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 165 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,055 to #8,220.
FAQ
Krull surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Krull?
Name Census estimates that about 4,424 living Americans carry the surname Krull. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,476 residents.
How common is Krull?
Krull ranks #8,220 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 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 3,858 people with the surname Krull. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 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 Krull.
Has Krull become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Krull went from 4,111 recorded bearers to 3,858. That is a decrease of 253 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,055 to #8,220.
What does the Census say about the background of Krull?
Among Census respondents with the surname Krull, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Krull in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (3,631 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Krull appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.0%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Krull (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 Krull mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from the Middle High German word "krul," meaning curly or lock of hair. 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 Krull (1.29 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 share the surname Krull?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.