2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kuettner
A German surname potentially denoting someone from the village of Kütten.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Kuettner. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kuettner 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Kuettner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuettner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kuettner
The surname KUETTNER is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the late Middle Ages in central Europe. The name is believed to derive from the Germanic word "kütt," meaning a small house or cottage, indicating that the earliest bearers of this name likely resided in such humble dwellings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KUETTNER name appears in the Deutsches Familiennamen-Buch, a comprehensive compendium of German surnames, where it is listed as a variant spelling of the more common "Köttner." This suggests that the name may have originated in regions where Low German dialects were spoken, as the substitution of the "ü" for the "ö" was a common linguistic feature.
In the 15th century, records from the town of Nuremberg in Bavaria mention a family by the name of KUETTNER, indicating that the name had spread across various German-speaking territories by that time. The name is also found in church records and municipal archives from other parts of southern Germany during the same period.
One notable bearer of the KUETTNER surname was Johann Christoph Kuettner, a German astronomer and mathematician who lived from 1713 to 1787. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and collaborated with renowned scientists of his era, including Leonhard Euler.
Another historically significant figure was Friedrich Wilhelm Kuettner, a Prussian military officer and war hero who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1779, he rose through the ranks and was awarded the prestigious Pour le Mérite for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
In the realm of literature, Carl Gottfried Kuettner, a German poet and translator born in 1755, gained recognition for his renditions of works by Ovid and Horace into German verse. His translations were widely acclaimed for their poetic elegance and fidelity to the original texts.
Moving into the 19th century, Karl August Kuettner, a German architect and urban planner, left his mark on the city of Leipzig. Born in 1809, he designed several notable buildings, including the Städtisches Kaufhaus (City Marketplace) and the Alte Nikolaischule (Old Nicholas School).
Lastly, the name KUETTNER is associated with Gottfried Kuettner, a German-American artist and illustrator who lived from 1839 to 1905. He is best known for his realistic depictions of natural scenery and wildlife, particularly his illustrations for publications by the renowned naturalist John Muir.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kuettner
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuettner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kuettner 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 Kuettner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.2% · 99
- Two or more races3.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kuettner
Kuettner appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-7 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 5,243 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 5,243 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 Kuettner 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 | #148,347 | #153,590 | -3.5% |
| Count | 111 | 104 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kuettner bearers went from 111 to 104 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 5,243 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #153,590.
FAQ
Kuettner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kuettner?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Kuettner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Kuettner?
Kuettner ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Kuettner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Kuettner.
Has Kuettner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kuettner went from 111 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Kuettner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuettner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Kuettner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kuettner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.2%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Kuettner (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 Kuettner mean?
A German surname potentially denoting someone from the village of Kütten. 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 Kuettner (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Kuettner?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.