Find out how popular the last name Kulp is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kulp.

Kulp, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kulp surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kulp in America

Kulp is the 7143rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kulp surname appeared 4,681 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Kulp.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kulp to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kulp

The surname Kulp has its origins in Germany, specifically in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia. It is believed to have emerged in the early Middle Ages, around the 9th or 10th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old German word "kulp," which means "pool" or "puddle." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive term used to identify someone who lived near a pool or body of water.

One of the earliest known records of the name Kulp can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Duchy of Bavaria, dating back to the 12th century. The name appears in various forms, including "Culpe," "Kulpen," and "Kulpius." This variation in spelling was common in medieval times, as standardized spelling conventions had not yet been established.

In the 13th century, the name Kulp appeared in the Annales Fuldenses, a historical chronicle written by the monks of the Fulda Abbey in present-day Hesse, Germany. The chronicle mentions a certain "Kulpe de Franconibus," which translates to "Kulpe from Franconia," indicating the geographic region where the name was prevalent.

One of the earliest known individuals bearing the surname Kulp was Konrad Kulp, who was born in the village of Röpfelbach, Bavaria, in the late 15th century. He was a prominent landowner and farmer in the region. Another notable figure was Hans Kulp, a master baker and guild member in the city of Nuremberg, who lived in the early 16th century.

In the 17th century, the Kulp family spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Sweden. One notable member was Jan Kulp, a Dutch merchant and ship owner who was active in the Dutch East India Company during the 1650s. In Sweden, there was Lars Kulp, a military officer who served in the Swedish army during the Great Northern War (1700-1721).

The name Kulp can also be found in various place names across Germany, such as Kulphusen (a village in Lower Saxony) and Kulperhof (a former farmstead in Franconia). These place names likely derived from the surname itself, reflecting the presence of Kulp families in those localities.

Other notable individuals with the surname Kulp include Johann Kulp (1774-1838), a German theologian and author, and Friedrich Kulp (1810-1878), a German-American educator and publisher who founded the first German-language newspaper in Pennsylvania, USA.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kulp

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kulp.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kulp was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kulp has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kulp was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kulp, please contact us.

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