2000
#49,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 401
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Kufahl
An uncommon surname of German origin, possibly derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 530 Americans carry the last name Kufahl. That puts it at #49,237 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 646,706 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kufahl 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
530
1 in 646,706
Census rank
#49,237
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
462
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 462 bearers of the surname Kufahl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 49237th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kufahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kufahl
The surname "KUFAHL" is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century in the region of Saxony. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "kufe," meaning "barrel" or "cask," potentially indicating an occupation or trade connection for early bearers of the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the village records of Zwickau, Saxony, in 1589, where a family by the name of Kufahl is mentioned as residing in the area. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.
In the 17th century, the Kufahl name can be found in historical documents from the towns of Görlitz and Bautzen, both located in the eastern part of Saxony, near the modern-day border with Poland. These records shed light on the geographic spread of the name during that period.
The Kufahl surname appears to have been concentrated primarily in the regions of Saxony and Silesia (now part of Poland) throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Some notable individuals bearing the Kufahl name during this time include Johann Kufahl (1612-1678), a Lutheran pastor in the town of Löbau, and Hans Kufahl (1676-1742), a wealthy merchant and landowner in the city of Görlitz.
As the centuries progressed, the Kufahl name began to spread to other parts of Germany and beyond. In the 19th century, records show individuals with the Kufahl surname residing in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne.
One of the most prominent figures with the Kufahl surname was Friedrich Kufahl (1823-1901), a renowned German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Neue Wache and the Reichsbank building. His contributions to the architectural landscape of Berlin earned him significant recognition during his lifetime.
Another notable Kufahl was Karl Kufahl (1867-1942), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscape and genre paintings, particularly scenes depicting rural life in Saxony and Brandenburg.
While the Kufahl surname may not be as widely known as some other German surnames, its historical roots and presence in various regions of Germany and beyond demonstrate its enduring legacy over several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kufahl
Among Census respondents with the surname Kufahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kufahl 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 Kufahl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 432
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 13
- Two or more races2.8% · 13
- Black or African American0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kufahl
Kufahl 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
#47,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 448
+47 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 1,893 places
2020
#49,237
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 462
+14 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 1,881 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,249 | 401 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #47,356 | 448 | 0.15 | +47 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 1,893 places |
| 2020 | #49,237 | 462 | 0.15 | +14 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 1,881 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 Kufahl 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 | #47,356 | #49,237 | -4.0% |
| Count | 448 | 462 | 3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.15 | 3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kufahl bearers went from 448 to 462 (+3.1% change). The surname moved down 1,881 positions in the national ranking, going from #47,356 to #49,237.
FAQ
Kufahl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kufahl?
Name Census estimates that about 530 living Americans carry the surname Kufahl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 646,706 residents.
How common is Kufahl?
Kufahl ranks #49,237 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 462 people with the surname Kufahl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (530), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Kufahl.
Has Kufahl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kufahl went from 448 recorded bearers to 462. That is an increase of 14 (+3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #47,356 to #49,237.
What does the Census say about the background of Kufahl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kufahl, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Kufahl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (432 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kufahl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Kufahl (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 Kufahl mean?
An uncommon surname of German origin, possibly derived from a place name. 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 Kufahl (0.15 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 have the last name Kufahl?
See how many Americans have the surname Kufahl on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.