# Koch (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/koch/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from German.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 49,395 |
| US rank (2010) | 698 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 6,251 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.5% (47,286 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /koʊk/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Borrowed from German Koch (“cook”), an occupational surname. Doublet of Cook and Kok.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Koch in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 95% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Koch in the United States, Austria, Germany, Brazil, Australia and the Kingdom of Denmark.

## People named Koch

- David Koch, American billionaire heir and businessman (1940–2019)
- Charles Koch, American billionaire and businessman
- Cooper Koch, American actor and model
- Joseph Anton Koch, Austrian painter (1768-1839)
- Julia Koch, American socialite and philanthropist
- Alexander Koch, American actor
- Christof Koch, American neuroscientist
- Fred Chase Koch, American chemical engineer and entrepreneur (1900–1967)
- Bill Koch, American former cross-country skier and Nordic combined skier
- Thomas Koch, Austrian ice hockey player
- Thomaz Koch, Brazilian tennis player
- Des Koch, American discus thrower

and 16 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Koshy, Kuch, Kotch, Kock, Kosch, Koc, Keys, Keyes, Keck, Kish, Koss, Kwok.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.