2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kutay
A Turkish surname potentially derived from the Turkish word "kutay" meaning "lucky moon" or "auspicious moon."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Kutay. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kutay 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Kutay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kutay, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kutay
The surname KUTAY has its origins in Turkey, dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to be derived from the Turkish word "kutu," meaning "box" or "container," and may have originally referred to a person who worked as a box maker or seller of boxes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KUTAY can be found in the Ottoman tax registers, known as the "Tapu Tahrir Defterleri," from the late 15th century. These records were used to keep track of land ownership and tax payments in the Ottoman Empire.
During the Ottoman period, the KUTAY family was primarily concentrated in the western and central regions of Anatolia, particularly in the provinces of Bursa, Kütahya, and Afyonkarahisar. Some notable individuals from this time period include Mehmet KUTAY, a respected calligrapher who lived in the 16th century, and Hasan KUTAY, a military commander who fought in the Ottoman-Safavid Wars in the late 16th century.
In the 19th century, as the Ottoman Empire began to modernize and embrace Western influences, the KUTAY name started to spread to other parts of the region. One prominent figure from this era was Ahmet KUTAY, a diplomat and statesman who served as the Ottoman ambassador to several European countries in the late 1800s.
Another notable person with the KUTAY surname was Mustafa KUTAY, a renowned poet and writer born in 1936 in Istanbul. He was known for his contributions to modern Turkish literature and his works exploring themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
Ibrahim KUTAY, born in 1924 and died in 2005, was a prominent Turkish architect and urban planner. He played a significant role in shaping the modern cityscape of Istanbul, designing several iconic buildings and contributing to the city's urban planning efforts.
Throughout history, the KUTAY surname has also been documented in various spellings and variations, such as KUTAHI, KUTAI, and KUTAYI, reflecting regional linguistic differences and influences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kutay
Among Census respondents with the surname Kutay, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Kutay 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 Kutay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kutay
Kutay 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-6 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,160 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,649 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 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 14,160 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 3,649 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 Kutay 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 | #142,108 | #145,757 | -2.6% |
| Count | 117 | 115 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kutay bearers went from 117 to 115 (-1.7% change). The surname moved down 3,649 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #145,757.
FAQ
Kutay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kutay?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Kutay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Kutay?
Kutay ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Kutay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Kutay.
Has Kutay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kutay went from 117 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Kutay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kutay, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Kutay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kutay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Kutay (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 Kutay mean?
A Turkish surname potentially derived from the Turkish word "kutay" meaning "lucky moon" or "auspicious moon." 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 Kutay (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 Kutay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.