2000
#657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,286
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.53
Uncommon Last name
Koch
A German occupational surname referring to a cook or someone who operated a kitchen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 54,416 Americans carry the last name Koch. That puts it at #703 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 15.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,299 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Koch 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 Koch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
54K
1 in 6,299
Census rank
#703
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
47K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 47,453 bearers of the surname Koch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 15.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 703rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Koch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Koch
The surname Koch has its origins in Germany and Switzerland, where it first emerged in the 14th century. The name is derived from the German word "Koch," meaning "cook" or "chef." It likely originated as an occupational surname for individuals who worked as cooks or chefs, either in private households or in public establishments.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various German and Swiss records from the late Middle Ages. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Koch, a cook mentioned in a document from the city of Nuremberg in 1349.
In the 15th century, the name began to appear in various regional variations, such as Koche, Kochin, and Kochenmeister, reflecting the different dialects and spellings used in different parts of Germany and Switzerland.
One notable early bearer of the name was Hans Koch, a German painter and sculptor who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. His works can be found in several churches and museums throughout Germany.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Koch surname became more widespread as people with this occupation moved from one region to another. In some cases, the name was also adopted by individuals who did not necessarily work as cooks but may have had ancestors who did.
In the 18th century, the Koch family produced several notable figures, including Johann Koch, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1716, and Johann Friedrich Koch, a German theologian and writer born in 1759.
As the surname spread beyond its original regions, it was also adopted in other parts of Europe and eventually in other parts of the world through immigration. Some notable bearers of the name in the 19th and early 20th centuries include Robert Koch, the German physician and microbiologist who discovered the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and cholera, and Thomas Mann, the German novelist and Nobel Prize laureate in Literature.
Throughout its history, the Koch surname has been associated with various place names, such as Kochendorf and Kochenheim, which likely derived from the surname itself or from similar occupational names.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Koch
Among Census respondents with the surname Koch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Koch 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 Koch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 43,936
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,518
- Two or more races2.7% · 1,304
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 403
- Black or African American0.3% · 164
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 128
Timeline
Historical Census data for Koch
Koch 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
#698
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,395
+2,109 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 16.75
Rank movement Down 41 places
2020
#703
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,453
-1,942 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 15.88
Rank movement Down 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #657 | 47,286 | 17.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #698 | 49,395 | 16.75 | +2,109 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 41 places |
| 2020 | #703 | 47,453 | 15.88 | -1,942 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 5 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 Koch 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 | #698 | #703 | -0.7% |
| Count | 49,395 | 47,453 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 16.75 | 15.88 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Koch bearers went from 49,395 to 47,453 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #698 to #703.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Koch
FAQ
Koch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Koch?
Name Census estimates that about 54,416 living Americans carry the surname Koch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,299 residents.
How common is Koch?
Koch ranks #703 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 15.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 47,453 people with the surname Koch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (54,416), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 15.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 15.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Koch.
Has Koch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Koch went from 49,395 recorded bearers to 47,453. That is a decrease of 1,942 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #698 to #703.
What does the Census say about the background of Koch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Koch, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) 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 Koch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (43,936 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Koch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.2%), 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 Koch (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 Koch mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a cook or someone who operated a kitchen. 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 Koch (15.88 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 last name Koch?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Koch on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.