Explore the Family Name Kilpela

The meaning of Kilpela

Finnish (Kilpelä): habitational name from farms so named, from kilpi ‘shield’, also ‘water lily, especially lily pad’ (the last sense is used particularly in the names of ponds and lakes and the names of dwellings near them) + the locative suffix -lä. Established as a hereditary surname in northern Finland, where kilpi has the sense ‘the wide part of the elk or reindeer horn’, and in western Finland.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kilpela in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Kilpela has seen a slight decrease in rank from 2000 to 2010, moving from the 55,237th spot to the 56,444th. However, the count of people with this surname has increased by 4.02 percent over the same decade, going from 348 to 362 individuals. The proportion per 100,000 people has slightly decreased in the past decade, dropping from 0.13 to 0.12, indicating a -7.69 percent change.

20002010Change
Rank#55,237#56,444-2.19%
Count3483624.02%
Proportion per 100k0.130.12-7.69%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kilpela

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the surname Kilpela identify as White, with an increase from 98.85 percent in 2000 to 99.17 percent in 2010. No changes were reported in the percentages of people identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Hispanic, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native.

20002010Change
White98.85%99.17%0.32%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Two or More Races0%0%0%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%