Find out how popular the last name Ankum is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ankum.

Ankum, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ankum surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ankum in America

Ankum is the 123064th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ankum surname appeared 140 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Ankum.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ankum to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ankum

The surname Ankum originated in the German region of Lower Saxony, dating back to at least the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Saxon words "ank" meaning "low-lying meadow" and "heim" meaning "home" or "settlement". The name likely referred to someone who lived in a settlement near a low-lying meadow.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Anchem" in the Codex Eberhardi, a medieval manuscript from the Fulda monastery in Germany, dating back to around 1160. The name also appeared in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, with the spelling "Anckem" in 1272.

In the 14th century, the name was recorded as "Anckum" in the Neues Landesarchiv, a historical archive in Wolfenbüttel, Germany. This spelling is closer to the modern form of "Ankum".

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Johann Ankum, a merchant from Hildesheim, Germany, who lived in the 15th century. Another notable individual was Gerhard Ankum, a German jurist and scholar of Roman law, who lived from 1490 to 1552.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in the Annales Stadenses, a chronicle of the city of Stade in Lower Saxony, with the spelling "Anckam". This variation suggests the name may have been influenced by local dialects or pronunciations.

Other notable individuals with the surname Ankum include:

1. Heinrich Ankum (1658-1721), a German composer and organist from Lübeck.
2. Friedrich Ankum (1805-1878), a German writer and journalist from Bremen.
3. Wilhelm Ankum (1837-1909), a German politician and member of the Reichstag.
4. Otto Ankum (1873-1948), a German architect from Hanover.
5. Hans Ankum (1897-1976), a German jurist and professor of Roman law at the University of Cologne.

The surname Ankum is still most commonly found in the regions of Lower Saxony and Bremen in northern Germany, where it originated centuries ago.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ankum

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ankum.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ankum was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ankum has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ankum was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ankum, please contact us.

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