2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kulback
A surname of German origin possibly related to a geographic location or feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Kulback. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kulback 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Kulback in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kulback, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kulback
The surname Kulback has its origins in Central Europe, specifically in the present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia regions. It is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, deriving from the Czech word "kulbak" or "kulbach," which referred to a type of rounded hat or helmet worn by soldiers and peasants.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the archives of the town of Brno, in what is now the Czech Republic. A document from 1532 mentions a certain Jakub Kulback, a local landowner and farmer. The name also appears in several church records from the nearby village of Olomouc, dating back to the late 1500s.
As the name spread across Central Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Kulbak, Kulbachk, and Kulbacher. These variations were likely influenced by regional dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping. In some areas, the name was also associated with occupations related to the production or sale of the distinctive rounded hats or helmets.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, as migration increased across Europe, the Kulback surname began to appear in other regions, including parts of Germany, Austria, and even Poland. One notable individual from this period was Johann Kulback (1658-1732), a German composer and organist who served at several churches in the city of Leipzig.
In the 19th century, the Kulback name found its way to other parts of the world as Central European immigrants sought new opportunities. For instance, Franz Kulback (1808-1876), a Czech-born farmer, was among the early settlers in the Texas Hill Country region of the United States.
Other notable individuals with the Kulback surname include:
1. Ludvik Kulback (1892-1968), a Czech mathematician and statistician known for his work in information theory and the development of the Kullback-Leibler divergence measure.
2. Gottfried Kulback (1732-1801), a German painter and engraver active in the Baroque and Rococo periods.
3. Josephine Kulback (1865-1942), an Austrian-born opera singer who performed in various European opera houses in the late 19th century.
4. Heinrich Kulback (1796-1858), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in the city of Berlin.
5. Valerie Kulback (born 1976), a Canadian novelist and playwright, author of the acclaimed book "The Mistress of Nothing."
While the surname Kulback remains relatively uncommon globally, it continues to be found in various parts of Europe, North America, and other regions where Central European immigrants settled over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kulback
Among Census respondents with the surname Kulback, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kulback 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 Kulback surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kulback
Kulback 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-17 bearers (-13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 25,442 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.7%) | Down 25,442 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 289 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 Kulback 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 | #152,628 | #152,339 | 0.2% |
| Count | 107 | 106 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kulback bearers went from 107 to 106 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 289 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #152,339.
FAQ
Kulback surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kulback?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Kulback. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Kulback?
Kulback ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Kulback. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Kulback.
Has Kulback become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kulback went from 107 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Kulback?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kulback, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Kulback in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kulback appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Kulback (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 Kulback mean?
A surname of German origin possibly related to a geographic location or feature. 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 Kulback (0.04 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 common is the surname Kulback?
See how many Americans have the surname Kulback on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.