Explore the Family Name Kula
The meaning of Kula
1. Polish, Czech, Sorbian, and Jewish (from Poland): from Polish, Sorbian, and dialect Czech kula (standard Czech koule) ‘ball’, in Sorbian also ‘lump’ and ‘bump’, probably applied as a nickname for a rotund person. 2. Czech and Sorbian: from a short form of the local equivalents, such as Czech Mikuláš, of the personal name Nicholas. The Sorbian surname (in both senses; see also 1 above) is found mainly in Germanized forms (see Kuhle and Kulla). 3. Slovak (also Kuľa): variant of Gula, a cognate of 1 above. 4. Jewish (from Belarus): habitational name from Kulya, now in Belarus. 5. Turkish: ornamental name or nickname from kula ‘russet’, also ‘dun’. Some characteristic forenames: Polish Czeslaw, Halina, Jozef, Krzysztof, Witold, Zbigniew, Casimir, Grzegorz, Janusz, Jozefa, Kazimierz, Ludwik.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Kula in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Kula has seen a significant increase from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Kula was ranked as the 12,883rd most common surname, but jumped to 10,631 in 2010, reflecting a rise of about 17.48 percent. Similarly, the count of individuals with the Kula surname grew by approximately 37.53 percent from 2,190 in 2000 to 3,012 in 2010. The data also shows that the proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 increased by around 25.93 percent.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,883 | #10,631 | 17.48% |
| Count | 2,190 | 3,012 | 37.53% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.81 | 1.02 | 25.93% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kula
Ethnicity wise, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the distribution of the Kula surname among different ethnic identities underwent changes between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, about 94.38 percent of those with the Kula surname identified as white; however, this dropped to 87.38 percent by 2010. Meanwhile, there was an increase in the percentage of Kulas identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (from 2.15 percent to 5.38 percent) and Hispanic (from 0.68 percent to 3.45 percent). Interestingly, the data for Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities were zero in 2000 but rose to 1.63 percent and 0.27 percent respectively in 2010. The percentage of Kulas identifying with two or more races decreased slightly, from 2.15 percent in 2000 to 1.89 percent in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.38% | 87.38% | -7.42% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 2.15% | 5.38% | 150.23% |
| Hispanic | 0.68% | 3.45% | 407.35% |
| Two or More Races | 2.15% | 1.89% | -12.09% |
| Black | 0% | 1.63% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.27% | 0% |