The Krebs surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,067 people carried this name — #3,260 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 26,700 people counted. That is up 1% from 10,951 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Krebs surname
As a German, Alemannic German, and occasionally Danish surname, from the noun Krebs (“crab”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Krebs» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
3,460 people named Krebs live in Switzerland.
They live in 24 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 1,508 people named Krebs.
102 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 58 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
196 people named Krebs have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 312 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 10 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
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 90 people named Krebs 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 Chubut.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
152 people named Krebs are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Krebs in American newspapers,
1896–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 87,184 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Krebs,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Ludwig Engelhard Krebs 1792–1844 · pharmacist -
Karl August Krebs 1804–1880 · composer -
Conrad Krebs 1809–1880 · head teacher -
Aloyse Krebs 1824–1904 · opera singer -
Fredrik Krebs 1845–1925 · painter
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 233 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Krebs.
- Kraut 1,073 · U.S. census
- Krauth 727 · U.S. census
- Krawczyk 3,516 · U.S. census
- Krawiec 1,194 · U.S. census
- Kreb 129 · U.S. census
- Kreber 168 · U.S. census
- Kreder 194 · U.S. census
- Krein 1,057 · U.S. census
- Kreiss 487 · U.S. census
- Kreitz 849 · U.S. census
- Kremer 7,784 · U.S. census
- Kremp 167 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Krebs 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.