2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kurvers
A name of Dutch origin, likely derived from the word "kurveren" meaning "to curve" or "to arch".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Kurvers. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kurvers 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Kurvers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurvers, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kurvers
The surname Kurvers has its origins in the Netherlands, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "kurver," which means "basket maker" or "basket weaver." This suggests that the name was initially an occupational surname given to individuals who specialized in creating baskets or other woven items.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kurvers can be found in the Dutch archives from the city of Leiden, where a certain Jan Kurvers was listed as a resident in 1587. This entry provides evidence that the name was already in use during the late 16th century in the Netherlands.
In the 17th century, the name Kurvers appeared in several historical documents, including the birth and baptismal records of various Dutch towns and cities. For instance, a man named Pieter Kurvers was born in Amsterdam in 1643, while another individual named Adriaan Kurvers was baptized in Rotterdam in 1667.
During the 18th century, the Kurvers surname continued to be present in Dutch records, with some notable individuals bearing this name. One such person was Willem Kurvers, a merchant from Haarlem who was involved in the Dutch East India Company's trade activities in the early 1700s.
As the centuries progressed, the Kurvers name spread beyond the Netherlands, with some individuals migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. In the 19th century, a man named Johannes Kurvers, born in 1828 in the Dutch town of Tilburg, is documented to have immigrated to the United States in the 1850s, settling in the state of Michigan.
Another notable figure with the Kurvers surname was Theodorus Kurvers, a Dutch painter born in 1841 in The Hague. He gained recognition for his landscape and genre paintings, and some of his works are still displayed in various art museums in the Netherlands.
In more recent times, the name Kurvers has been associated with several accomplished individuals, including Dirk Kurvers, a Dutch professional ice hockey player who played for the New York Islanders and other NHL teams in the 1980s and 1990s. Additionally, Geert Kurvers, born in 1960, is a well-known Dutch sculptor known for his abstract and minimalist works.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kurvers
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurvers, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kurvers 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 Kurvers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 113
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kurvers
Kurvers 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-10 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,034 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+4 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,709 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 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 18,034 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.5%) | Up 1,709 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 Kurvers 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 | #145,220 | #143,511 | 1.2% |
| Count | 114 | 118 | 3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kurvers bearers went from 114 to 118 (+3.5% change). The surname moved up 1,709 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #143,511.
FAQ
Kurvers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kurvers?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Kurvers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Kurvers?
Kurvers ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Kurvers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Kurvers.
Has Kurvers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kurvers went from 114 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 4 (+3.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #145,220 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Kurvers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurvers, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) 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 Kurvers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kurvers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Two or More Races (1.7%), 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 Kurvers (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 Kurvers mean?
A name of Dutch origin, likely derived from the word "kurveren" meaning "to curve" or "to arch". 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 Kurvers (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 Americans have the surname Kurvers?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.