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

Baek, 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 Baek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Baek in America

Baek is the 10689th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Baek surname appeared 2,990 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Baek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Baek 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 Baek

The surname BAEK is of Korean origin and can be traced back to the 7th century AD during the Three Kingdoms period on the Korean peninsula. It was originally derived from the Old Korean word "baek", meaning "white" or "pure".

The name BAEK was particularly common in the southwestern regions of the Korean peninsula, particularly in the areas around the modern-day city of Gwangju. One of the earliest known records of the surname appears in the Samguk Sagi, a 12th-century historical text that chronicles the Three Kingdoms period.

In the 14th century, the BAEK surname gained prominence during the Goryeo dynasty, with several notable scholars and government officials bearing the name. One such figure was BAEK In-ji (1327-1398), a renowned Confucian scholar and author who served as a high-ranking official under King Gongmin.

During the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897), the BAEK surname continued to be associated with the scholarly elite. BAEK Yeon (1491-1554) was a prominent Neo-Confucian philosopher and writer who served as a royal tutor and is remembered for his contributions to the development of Korean Confucian thought.

Another notable figure from this period was BAEK Jong-soo (1675-1737), a talented calligrapher and poet who was also a respected military leader and served as the governor of several provinces.

In more recent history, BAEK Nam-un (1820-1888) was a renowned scholar and diplomat who played a key role in the negotiation of the Korean-American Treaty of 1882, which formally established diplomatic relations between Korea and the United States.

BAEK Seok-gi (1912-1996) was a prominent writer and literary critic who made significant contributions to the development of modern Korean literature in the 20th century.

While the BAEK surname has its roots in Korea, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to immigration and diaspora communities. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in Korean culture and history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Baek

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

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 Baek 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 Baek 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 Baek was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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