2000
#17,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,485
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.55
Rare Last name
Kleist
A surname indicating someone from the region of Kleist, a place name derived from a Slavic word for "clay" or "bog".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,678 Americans carry the last name Kleist. That puts it at #18,635 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 204,264 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kleist 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
1.7K
1 in 204,264
Census rank
#18,635
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,463 bearers of the surname Kleist in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18635th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kleist
The surname Kleist is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is believed to have originated as a topographic name, derived from the Low German word "kleit," meaning "clay" or "loam." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived in an area with clayey soil or worked as potters or brickmakers.
The name Kleist is first recorded in the 13th century, appearing in various medieval documents from northern Germany. One of the earliest known references is found in the records of the city of Lübeck, where a certain Nicolaus Kleist is mentioned in 1259. This indicates that the name was well-established in the region of Holstein and Mecklenburg during that time.
In the 14th century, the Kleist family gained prominence as members of the Pomeranian nobility. They held estates and manors in the Duchy of Pomerania, which is now part of modern-day Germany and Poland. The name is also found in historical records from the nearby regions of Brandenburg and Saxony.
One notable figure bearing the Kleist name was Ewald von Kleist (1615-1689), a Prussian field marshal who played a significant role in the Great Northern War against Sweden. He is remembered for his military leadership and strategic victories in battles such as the Battle of Fehrbellin in 1675.
Another prominent member of the Kleist family was Ewald Christian von Kleist (1715-1759), a Prussian poet and officer who served in the Seven Years' War. He is best known for his elegiac poetry and his tragic death on the battlefield during the Battle of Kunersdorf.
The 19th century saw the rise of Ewald von Kleist (1881-1954), a German naval officer and later politician who served as the last Chancellor of Germany during the final days of World War II in 1945. He played a crucial role in the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces.
Perhaps the most celebrated figure with the Kleist surname is Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (1777-1811), a renowned German playwright, poet, and novelist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the German Romantic movement and is best known for his plays "Der zerbrochene Krug" (The Broken Jug) and "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg" (Prince Friedrich of Homburg).
The name Kleist has also been associated with various place names in northern Germany, such as the town of Kleist in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which likely derived its name from the family or vice versa.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kleist
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kleist 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 Kleist surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,354
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 48
- Two or more races1.8% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kleist
Kleist 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
#18,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,532
+47 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Down 672 places
2020
#18,635
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,463
-69 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Down 469 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,494 | 1,485 | 0.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,166 | 1,532 | 0.52 | +47 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 672 places |
| 2020 | #18,635 | 1,463 | 0.49 | -69 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 469 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 Kleist 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 | #18,166 | #18,635 | -2.6% |
| Count | 1,532 | 1,463 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.52 | 0.49 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kleist bearers went from 1,532 to 1,463 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 469 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,166 to #18,635.
FAQ
Kleist surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kleist?
Name Census estimates that about 1,678 living Americans carry the surname Kleist. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 204,264 residents.
How common is Kleist?
Kleist ranks #18,635 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.49 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 1,463 people with the surname Kleist. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,678), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.49 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 Kleist.
Has Kleist become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kleist went from 1,532 recorded bearers to 1,463. That is a decrease of 69 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,166 to #18,635.
What does the Census say about the background of Kleist?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleist, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Kleist in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,354 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kleist appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Kleist (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 Kleist mean?
A surname indicating someone from the region of Kleist, a place name derived from a Slavic word for "clay" or "bog". 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 Kleist (0.49 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 Kleist?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.