2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kurant
An occupational surname referring to a trader or merchant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 153 Americans carry the last name Kurant. That puts it at #132,523 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,240,224 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kurant 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
153
1 in 2,240,224
Census rank
#132,523
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
133
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 133 bearers of the surname Kurant in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 132523rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurant, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kurant
The surname Kurant has its origins in Germany, and it can be traced back to the 16th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German word "kurant," which means "current" or "in circulation." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked as a moneychanger or banker, dealing with currency that was "in circulation."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Kurant surname can be found in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a merchant named Hans Kurant was listed in the guild registers of 1542. This indicates that the name was already well-established in the region by the mid-16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various official documents and records across Germany. For instance, a Johann Kurant was listed as a resident of the town of Augsburg in 1632. Another notable figure from this era was Christoph Kurant, a respected clockmaker who lived in Dresden between 1620 and 1685.
As the centuries progressed, the Kurant name spread to other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with significant German-speaking populations. In the late 18th century, a merchant named Jakob Kurant was recorded as living in the city of Lviv, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now located in modern-day Ukraine).
One of the most prominent individuals bearing the Kurant surname was Wilhelm Kurant, a German philosopher and mathematician who lived from 1888 to 1972. He made significant contributions to the fields of set theory and logic, and his work laid the foundations for modern computer science.
Other notable figures with the Kurant surname include Hans Kurant (1892-1976), a German artist known for his expressionist paintings and woodcuts, and Gerhard Kurant (1901-1976), an Austrian composer and conductor who worked extensively in the field of operetta and light music.
Throughout its history, the Kurant surname has also been associated with various place names and locations. For example, the village of Kurantwalde in Saxony, Germany, likely derived its name from the Kurant family who may have been among its earliest settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kurant
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurant, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kurant 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 Kurant surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.0% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kurant
Kurant 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+7 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,662 places
2020
#132,523
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
+3 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,913 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 2,662 places |
| 2020 | #132,523 | 133 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 1,913 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 Kurant 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 | #130,610 | #132,523 | -1.5% |
| Count | 130 | 133 | 2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kurant bearers went from 130 to 133 (+2.3% change). The surname moved down 1,913 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #132,523.
FAQ
Kurant surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kurant?
Name Census estimates that about 153 living Americans carry the surname Kurant. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,240,224 residents.
How common is Kurant?
Kurant ranks #132,523 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 133 people with the surname Kurant. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (153), 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 Kurant.
Has Kurant become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kurant went from 130 recorded bearers to 133. That is an increase of 3 (+2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #132,523.
What does the Census say about the background of Kurant?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurant, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Kurant in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.0% (129 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kurant appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%), Black (0.8%). 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 Kurant (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 Kurant mean?
An occupational surname referring to a trader or merchant. 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 Kurant (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 many people are called Kurant?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Kurant? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.