Kellberg
A surname of Scandinavian origin, likely derived from a place name or a compound of elements related to hills or mountains.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 137 Americans carry the last name Kellberg. That puts it at #152,628 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,501,856 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kellberg 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.
Kellberg appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
137
1 in 2,501,856
Census rank
#152,628
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Kellberg in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152628th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kellberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kellberg
The surname "KELLBERG" is of Swedish origin, originating in the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "kellr" meaning "spring" or "well," and "berg" meaning "mountain" or "hill." The name likely referred to a geographic location near a spring or well on a mountain or hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the parish records of Skara, Sweden, where a man named Nils Kellberg was documented in 1587. The name also appeared in various legal documents and land registers throughout the 17th and 18th centuries in regions such as Västergötland and Dalsland.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure named Erik Kellberg (1744-1817) was a Swedish clergyman and author who published several religious works. Another individual, Johan Kellberg (1802-1879), was a Swedish politician and member of the Riksdag, the national legislature of Sweden.
The surname gained some prominence in the 19th century with the birth of Gustaf Kellberg (1838-1916), a Swedish painter known for his landscapes and seascapes. His works were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and are part of the collections of several museums in Sweden.
In the field of science, the name is associated with Carl Kellberg (1857-1923), a Swedish botanist and bryologist who made significant contributions to the study of mosses and liverworts. He published numerous scientific papers and was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Moving into the 20th century, one of the most notable individuals with the surname was Gunnar Kellberg (1904-1984), a Swedish actor and film director. He appeared in over 40 films and directed several popular movies during the golden age of Swedish cinema in the 1940s and 1950s.
While the surname "KELLBERG" is not among the most common in Sweden, it has a rich history rooted in the country's geographic and cultural heritage, with various individuals bearing the name making notable contributions in various fields over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kellberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Kellberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%.
The bar chart below shows how Kellberg bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Kellberg surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.2%
- Unknown or suppressed2.8%
FAQ
Kellberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kellberg?
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the surname Kellberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,501,856 residents.
How common is Kellberg?
Kellberg ranks #152,628 in the 2010 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 2010 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Kellberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (137), 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 Kellberg.
Has Kellberg become more or less common over time?
Kellberg appears here with 2010 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Kellberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kellberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. These figures come from the 2010 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 Kellberg in the 2010 Census, accounting for 97.2%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kellberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (97.2%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Kellberg appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Kellberg mean?
A surname of Scandinavian origin, likely derived from a place name or a compound of elements related to hills or mountains. 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 2010 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 Kellberg (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 have the surname Kellberg?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.