2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kusche
A surname originating from German roots, possibly denoting a person from the village of Küche.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Kusche. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kusche 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Kusche in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kusche, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kusche
The surname Kusche is of German origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated from the Low German word "kusche," which means "hut" or "cap." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who wore a distinctive hat or cap.
In the early records, the name appears with various spellings such as Kusche, Kusch, Kuesche, and Kuesch. One of the earliest documented mentions of the name can be found in the church records of the town of Lübeck in Northern Germany, where a certain Johannes Kusche was listed as a resident in the year 1384.
The Kusche family was particularly prevalent in the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia in Germany during the late medieval and early modern periods. In the 16th century, a notable figure with this surname was Hans Kusche, a German Protestant theologian and reformer who was born in 1501 and played a significant role in the Reformation movement.
As the Kusche family spread across different parts of Germany, the name also appeared in other regional variations. For instance, in the Rhineland area, the name was sometimes spelled as Küsche or Küsch. In the 17th century, a wealthy merchant named Johann Küsche (1621-1689) was a prominent citizen of the city of Cologne.
Another notable bearer of this surname was the German-American author and journalist Emil Kusche (1846-1918), who was born in Saxony and later emigrated to the United States, where he worked as a writer and editor for various German-language publications.
In the 19th century, a distinguished figure with the Kusche surname was August Kusche (1824-1889), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in the city of Hamburg, including the Kunsthalle Hamburg art museum.
While the Kusche name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. However, its historical origins can be traced back to the Low German regions of Northern Germany, where it was likely derived from a descriptive term related to headwear.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kusche
Among Census respondents with the surname Kusche, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kusche 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 Kusche surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.2% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 3
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kusche
Kusche 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,497 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,952 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 6,497 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 2,952 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 Kusche 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 | #147,253 | #150,205 | -2.0% |
| Count | 112 | 109 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kusche bearers went from 112 to 109 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 2,952 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #150,205.
FAQ
Kusche surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kusche?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Kusche. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Kusche?
Kusche ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Kusche. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Kusche.
Has Kusche become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kusche went from 112 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Kusche?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kusche, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Kusche in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kusche appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.2%), Hispanic (4.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Kusche (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 Kusche mean?
A surname originating from German roots, possibly denoting a person from the village of Küche. 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 Kusche (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 Kusche?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Kusche, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.