2000
#10,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,720
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Kuzma
A surname of Slavic origin derived from the word "kuzma," meaning "blacksmith" or "iron worker."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,843 Americans carry the last name Kuzma. That puts it at #12,018 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,561 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kuzma 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kuzma with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 120,561
Census rank
#12,018
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,479 bearers of the surname Kuzma in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12018th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuzma, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kuzma
The surname KUZMA is of Eastern European origin, specifically from the Slavic regions. It is a variant of the Greek name Kosmas, which means "order" or "ornament". The name likely emerged in the medieval period when many Slavic languages adopted Greek names through the influence of the Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KUZMA can be found in the Novgorod Birch Bark manuscripts, which date back to the 11th-14th centuries. These manuscripts were written on birch bark and served as a means of communication in the medieval city of Novgorod, now part of modern-day Russia.
In the 16th century, a Polish nobleman named Mikolaj Kuzma was mentioned in historical records. He was a member of the Polish gentry and owned land in the region of Lesser Poland (Malopolska).
During the 17th century, a Ukrainian Cossack leader named Kuzma Kryzhanovskyi played a significant role in the Khmelnytsky Uprising against Polish rule. He was a skilled military commander and fought alongside Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the legendary Cossack hetman.
In the 18th century, a Serbian poet and writer named Jovan Kuzma Goljić (1730-1804) made notable contributions to the Serbian literary tradition. His works included religious poems and translations of classical literature.
Another prominent figure with the surname KUZMA was Ivan Kuzma Dolgorukov (1764-1823), a Russian nobleman and military leader. He served as a general during the Napoleonic Wars and participated in several crucial battles, including the Battle of Borodino.
As the surname KUZMA spread across Eastern Europe, it also acquired various regional spellings and variations, such as Kuźma in Polish, Kuzmin in Russian, and Kuzmič in Croatian. Additionally, it is believed that some place names in Eastern Europe may have derived from or been influenced by this surname, though specific examples are difficult to ascertain due to the passage of time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kuzma
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuzma, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kuzma 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 Kuzma surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 2,328
- Two or more races2.4% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 22
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kuzma
Kuzma 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
#12,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,588
-132 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 1,283 places
2020
#12,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,479
-109 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Up 30 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,765 | 2,720 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,048 | 2,588 | 0.88 | -132 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 1,283 places |
| 2020 | #12,018 | 2,479 | 0.83 | -109 bearers (-4.2%) | Up 30 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 Kuzma 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 | #12,048 | #12,018 | 0.2% |
| Count | 2,588 | 2,479 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.83 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kuzma bearers went from 2,588 to 2,479 (-4.2% change). The surname moved up 30 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,048 to #12,018.
FAQ
Kuzma surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kuzma?
Name Census estimates that about 2,843 living Americans carry the surname Kuzma. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,561 residents.
How common is Kuzma?
Kuzma ranks #12,018 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,479 people with the surname Kuzma. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,843), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kuzma.
Has Kuzma become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kuzma went from 2,588 recorded bearers to 2,479. That is a decrease of 109 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,048 to #12,018.
What does the Census say about the background of Kuzma?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuzma, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Kuzma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (2,328 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kuzma appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Kuzma (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 Kuzma mean?
A surname of Slavic origin derived from the word "kuzma," meaning "blacksmith" or "iron worker." 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 Kuzma (0.83 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 Kuzma?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.