2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Aufdenkamp
Derived from German words meaning "on the field" or "on the campground".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Aufdenkamp. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aufdenkamp surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Aufdenkamp in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aufdenkamp, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aufdenkamp
The surname AUFDENKAMP originated in the late 17th century in the region of Westphalia, located in what is now northwestern Germany. It is a compound name derived from the Low German words "auf," meaning "on," and "denkamp," meaning "drained field" or "reclaimed land." This suggests that the name was originally given to someone who lived or worked on a piece of reclaimed farmland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname AUFDENKAMP appears in a 1698 church registry from the town of Hamm, Westphalia, where a Johann AUFDENKAMP is listed as a witness at a baptism. The name likely originated in this area, as variations like AUFMDENKAMP and UFFMDENKAMP can also be found in nearby parish records from the early 18th century.
In the 1800s, the AUFDENKAMP surname began to spread beyond its Westphalian roots. Johann Friedrich AUFDENKAMP (1782-1837), a farmer from the village of Rhynern, is recorded as having moved his family to the nearby town of Bochum in 1815. His grandson, Wilhelm AUFDENKAMP (1822-1901), became a prominent industrialist and helped establish Bochum as a center of coal mining and steel production.
Another notable figure from this era was the historian and writer Friedrich Wilhelm AUFDENKAMP (1820-1889), who was born in the town of Dortmund. His works included a comprehensive history of the county of Mark, which encompassed much of the AUFDENKAMP family's ancestral homeland.
As German emigration increased in the late 19th century, the AUFDENKAMP name began to appear in other parts of the world. One of the earliest examples is Johann AUFDENKAMP (1853-1922), who left Westphalia for the United States in 1872 and settled in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he worked as a brewer.
In the 20th century, the AUFDENKAMP surname continued to be represented in various fields. Karl AUFDENKAMP (1891-1964) was a German artist and illustrator known for his woodcuts and engravings, while Hans AUFDENKAMP (1920-2003) was a celebrated architect who designed several notable buildings in his native city of Cologne.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aufdenkamp
Among Census respondents with the surname Aufdenkamp, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Aufdenkamp bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Aufdenkamp surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 104
- Two or more races6.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aufdenkamp
Aufdenkamp appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
+17 bearers (+14.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 5,620 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-16 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,017 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | +17 bearers (+14.5%) | Up 5,620 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 16,017 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Aufdenkamp surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #127,494 | #143,511 | -12.6% |
| Count | 134 | 118 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aufdenkamp bearers went from 134 to 118 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 16,017 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #143,511.
FAQ
Aufdenkamp surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aufdenkamp?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Aufdenkamp. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Aufdenkamp?
Aufdenkamp ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Aufdenkamp. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Aufdenkamp.
Has Aufdenkamp become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aufdenkamp went from 134 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 16 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Aufdenkamp?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aufdenkamp, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Aufdenkamp in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aufdenkamp appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Two or More Races (6.8%), Hispanic (5.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Aufdenkamp (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Aufdenkamp mean?
Derived from German words meaning "on the field" or "on the campground". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Aufdenkamp (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Aufdenkamp?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.