The Kahl surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,215 people carried this name — #6,508 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 56,500 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (5,213).
What the name means
The meaning of the Kahl surname
German surname, from the adjective kahl (“bald”). Also from Kahl am Main in Lower Franconia, itself named after the River Kahl, from Old High German kaldaha (literally “the cold river”), from kalt (“cold”) + aha (“river”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kahl» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 270 people named Kahl live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
195 people named Kahl have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 247 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Greater Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 75 people named Kahl.
11 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
63 people named Kahl live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
114 people named Kahl is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Kahl in American newspapers,
1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 33,398 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Kahl,
with a public archive behind them.
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Johann Kahl 1550–1614 · jurist -
Achatius Kahl 1794–1888 · priest -
Johan Kahl 1831–1905 · painter -
Christian H. Kahl d. 1985 · politician
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Christian Kahl 1677–1752 · pastor
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Johan Kahl 1721–1746
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Kahl.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Kahl is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.