Explore the Family Name Kleve

The meaning of Kleve

1. German: habitational name from Kleve (earlier Cleve) in Lower Rhineland, Westphalia, or Schleswig-Holstein. The placename probably derives from an old topographic term cleve ‘swamp’. Compare Cleve. 2. German: variant of Klever 2. 3. Norwegian: habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named Kleiva, from Old Norse kleif, klif ‘cliff, rocky ascent with a road or path’.

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

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

According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Kleve has seen a slight decrease in popularity over a ten-year span. In 2000, it ranked at 33,653, but by 2010, it fell to 35,203, marking a decrease of 4.61%. Despite this drop in ranking, the actual count of people with this surname remained relatively stable, increasing slightly from 639 in 2000 to 640 in 2010. This change resulted in a minor decrease in proportion per 100,000, from 0.24 in 2000 to 0.22 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#33,653	#35,203	-4.61%
Count	639	640	0.16%
Proportion per 100k	0.24	0.22	-8.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kleve

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insight into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Kleve. The predominant ethnicity is White, with 97.50% in 2000 and an increase to 97.66% a decade later. There were no recorded instances of individuals with this surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year. However, there was a significant decrease in those identifying with two or more races, falling from 1.41% in 2000 to 0.78% in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.5%	97.66%	0.16%
Two or More Races	1.41%	0.78%	-44.68%
Hispanic	0%	0.78%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%