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

Bakke, 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 Bakke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bakke in America

Bakke is the 9257th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bakke surname appeared 3,517 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 Bakke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bakke 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 Bakke

The surname Bakke is of Norwegian origin, first appearing in records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old Norse word "bakki," which means "ridge" or "hill," suggesting that the original bearers of this name may have resided near a prominent geographical feature such as a hill or a ridge.

In the early days, the name was written in various forms, including Bakke, Bakki, and Bakkr. One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian charters and documents, where a person named Erlingr Bakki is mentioned in 1225.

The name Bakke was particularly prominent in the western regions of Norway, such as the counties of Rogaland and Hordaland, where many families bearing this surname can be traced back to the Middle Ages. One notable person from this era was Erling Bakke, a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the late 13th century and is mentioned in several sagas.

As the name spread across Norway, it also took on various regional variations and spellings, such as Bakkene, Bakkene, and Bakkene. One of the earliest recorded instances of this variant can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, where a person named Tore Bakkene is mentioned in 1348.

During the Viking Age, some Norwegians bearing the name Bakke may have traveled and settled in other parts of Europe and the British Isles. There are records of individuals with the name Bakke or similar spellings appearing in medieval documents from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and even parts of Scotland and England.

One notable historical figure with the surname Bakke was Hans Bakke, a Norwegian merchant and explorer who lived in the late 16th century. He is known for his expeditions to the Arctic region and his detailed accounts of the Sami people and their way of life.

Another prominent individual was Olav Bakke, a Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II. He was born in 1901 and played a crucial role in the underground movement against the German occupation of Norway, risking his life to gather intelligence and aid the Allied forces.

Throughout the centuries, the surname Bakke has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, craftsmen, soldiers, and scholars. Some examples include Nils Bakke, a Norwegian poet and writer born in 1853, and Sigrid Bakke, a renowned Norwegian sculptor who lived from 1892 to 1975.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bakke

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

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

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

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