The Kinder surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,539 people carried this name — #3,391 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,000 people counted. That is up 5% from 10,083 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Kinder surname
Uncertain but probably of Proto-Brythonic origin. The name may be equivalent to Welsh cain (“elegant, fair”) or cant (“border, rim”) + dwfr (“water”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kinder» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
805 people named Kinder have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 1,092 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 13 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Opole.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 246 people named Kinder 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 102 people named Kinder.
11 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 10 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
32 people named Kinder live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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
44 people named Kinder 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
Kinder in American newspapers,
1898–1915.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 12,718,390 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Kinder,
with a public archive behind them.
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Thomas William Kinder 1817–1884 · military personnel -
John Kinder 1819–1903 · photographer -
Philip Kinder 1597–1665 · writer
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John Kinder 1630–
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Jane Kinder 1675–
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Thomas Kinder 1780–1843
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Kinder.
- Kimmerle 432 · U.S. census
- Kimmich 396 · U.S. census
- Kin 1,739 · U.S. census
- Kind 1,574 · U.S. census
- Kindel 1,872 · U.S. census
- Kindelberger 205 · U.S. census
- Kindler 921 · U.S. census
- Kindt 1,407 · U.S. census
- King 465,422 · U.S. census
- Kint 453 · U.S. census
- Kintz 1,675 · U.S. census
- Kipfer 573 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Kinder 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.