2000
#96,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 175
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Kaline
Ethnic surname derived from a regional location in the Balkan region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 175 Americans carry the last name Kaline. That puts it at #119,572 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,958,596 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaline 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
175
1 in 1,958,596
Census rank
#119,572
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
153
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 153 bearers of the surname Kaline in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 119572nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaline, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.9%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaline
The surname KALINE has its origins in the Czech Republic, where it was first recorded in the early 17th century. It is derived from the Czech word "kalina," meaning "viburnum," a type of flowering shrub found throughout Eastern Europe.
The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked with these plants, or perhaps took their name from a place where the viburnum shrubs grew in abundance. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Kalina," which later evolved into the variant "Kaline" as the name spread to other regions.
One of the earliest known references to the KALINE surname dates back to 1612, when a certain Jan Kaline was listed in the parish records of the town of Litomerice, located in the northern part of Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic).
In the late 18th century, the KALINE name appears in various church records and land registries in the Moravian regions of what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, suggesting that the name had spread eastward from its original Czech roots.
One notable bearer of the KALINE surname was Josef Kaline (1826-1899), a Czech painter and illustrator who was renowned for his depictions of rural life and landscapes in the Bohemian countryside.
Another prominent figure was Frantisek Kaline (1865-1941), a Czech engineer and inventor who held numerous patents for various mechanical devices and industrial processes.
In the 20th century, the KALINE name gained recognition beyond the borders of Czech lands. One famous example is Al Kaline (1934-2020), an American baseball player who spent his entire 22-year career with the Detroit Tigers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Another notable KALINE was Vaclav Kaline (1919-2001), a Czech-American artist and sculptor whose works are featured in numerous galleries and museums across the United States and Europe.
While the KALINE surname has its roots in the Czech Republic, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by waves of immigration and cultural exchange. However, its origins can be traced back to the humble viburnum shrub that once flourished in the landscapes of Central Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaline
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaline, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.9%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaline 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 Kaline surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.7% · 122
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.9% · 9
- Two or more races5.9% · 9
- Black or African American4.6% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaline
Kaline 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
#101,247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178
+3 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 4,767 places
2020
#119,572
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 153
-25 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 18,325 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #96,480 | 175 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #101,247 | 178 | 0.06 | +3 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 4,767 places |
| 2020 | #119,572 | 153 | 0.05 | -25 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 18,325 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 Kaline 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 | #101,247 | #119,572 | -18.1% |
| Count | 178 | 153 | -14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.05 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaline bearers went from 178 to 153 (-14.0% change). The surname moved down 18,325 positions in the national ranking, going from #101,247 to #119,572.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kaline
FAQ
Kaline surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaline?
Name Census estimates that about 175 living Americans carry the surname Kaline. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,958,596 residents.
How common is Kaline?
Kaline ranks #119,572 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 153 people with the surname Kaline. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (175), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Kaline.
Has Kaline become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaline went from 178 recorded bearers to 153. That is a decrease of 25 (-14.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #101,247 to #119,572.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaline?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaline, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.9%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Kaline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (122 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaline appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (5.9%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Kaline (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 Kaline mean?
Ethnic surname derived from a regional location in the Balkan region. 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 Kaline (0.05 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 share the surname Kaline?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.