2000
#15,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,711
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Kirchhoff
A German surname derived from the words "Kirche" (church) and "Hof" (yard or court), indicating an association with a church or its property.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,123 Americans carry the last name Kirchhoff. That puts it at #15,273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 161,448 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kirchhoff 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
2.1K
1 in 161,448
Census rank
#15,273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,851 bearers of the surname Kirchhoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirchhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kirchhoff
The surname Kirchhoff originates from Germany, where it first emerged during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "Kirche" meaning church and "hof" meaning courtyard or farm. This suggests that the name was originally given to someone who lived near a church or worked on church property.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the 13th century, when a certain Henricus de Kirchhoff was mentioned in the records of the city of Cologne in 1275. The name also appears in various other medieval documents from regions such as Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
In the 14th century, the Kirchhoff name was associated with a noble family from the town of Kirchhoff near Soest in Westphalia. Members of this family held influential positions and were involved in local politics and governance.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the Kirchhoff name was Johannes Kirchhoff (1545-1620), a German mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of optics and is credited with the invention of the Kirchhoff's laws of electrical circuits.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887), a German physicist who made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of spectroscopy. He is best known for his work on the Kirchhoff's laws of thermodynamics and the Kirchhoff's radiation law.
In the 19th century, the Kirchhoff name gained further recognition through the work of Adolf Kirchhoff (1826-1908), a German philologist and expert in classical Greek literature. He is particularly renowned for his edition of the works of the ancient Greek poet Pindar.
The surname Kirchhoff has also been associated with several places in Germany, such as the town of Kirchhoff in North Rhine-Westphalia and the village of Kirchhoff in Lower Saxony. These locations likely contributed to the spread and variation of the name over time.
While the Kirchhoff surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period, when it was closely tied to the church and religious institutions in various regions of what is now modern-day Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kirchhoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirchhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kirchhoff 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 Kirchhoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 1,722
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 56
- Two or more races2.7% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kirchhoff
Kirchhoff 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
#15,748
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,851
+140 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 72 places
2020
#15,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,851
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 475 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,676 | 1,711 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,748 | 1,851 | 0.63 | +140 bearers (+8.2%) | Down 72 places |
| 2020 | #15,273 | 1,851 | 0.62 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 475 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 Kirchhoff 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 | #15,748 | #15,273 | 3.0% |
| Count | 1,851 | 1,851 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.63 | 0.62 | -1.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kirchhoff bearers went from 1,851 to 1,851 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 475 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,748 to #15,273.
FAQ
Kirchhoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kirchhoff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,123 living Americans carry the surname Kirchhoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 161,448 residents.
How common is Kirchhoff?
Kirchhoff ranks #15,273 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,851 people with the surname Kirchhoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Kirchhoff.
Has Kirchhoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kirchhoff went from 1,851 recorded bearers to 1,851. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,748 to #15,273.
What does the Census say about the background of Kirchhoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kirchhoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kirchhoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,722 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kirchhoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Kirchhoff (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 Kirchhoff mean?
A German surname derived from the words "Kirche" (church) and "Hof" (yard or court), indicating an association with a church or its property. 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 Kirchhoff (0.62 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 Kirchhoff?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.