2000
#14,415
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,901
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Barks
An English surname derived from a nickname for a loud or noisy person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,025 Americans carry the last name Barks. That puts it at #15,879 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 169,261 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barks 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Barks with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.0K
1 in 169,261
Census rank
#15,879
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,766 bearers of the surname Barks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15879th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barks, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barks
The surname BARKS is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "bærc," which means "bark" or "the outer covering of a tree." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived near a prominent tree or in a wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname BARKS can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a person named Richard Barke is mentioned. The variant spelling "Barke" was quite common in medieval records, and it's possible that the surname was initially derived from a place name containing the word "bark," such as Barking in Essex.
The BARKS surname appears in various historical documents throughout the centuries. For example, in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, a William Barke is listed as a taxpayer. Additionally, the name is found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of Yorkshire from 1672, which mentions a John Barkes.
Notably, the BARKS surname is associated with several prominent individuals throughout history. One of the earliest known was Sir William Barks (c. 1390-1452), a member of the English gentry and a landowner in Hertfordshire. Another notable figure was Sir John Barkes (1532-1605), a wealthy merchant and alderman of the City of London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, Samuel Barks (1619-1683) was a renowned English Puritan minister and author, known for his sermons and religious writings. A century later, Joseph Barks (1734-1811) gained recognition as a pioneering English naturalist and botanist, contributing significantly to the study of plant life in his time.
One of the most famous individuals with the BARKS surname was Sir Henry Barks (1816-1892), a British naval officer and explorer who played a crucial role in the search for the ill-fated Arctic expedition led by Sir John Franklin in the mid-19th century. His exploits and contributions to Arctic exploration earned him numerous honors and accolades.
Throughout the centuries, the BARKS surname has been found in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex, where the name has deep historical roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barks
Among Census respondents with the surname Barks, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Barks 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 Barks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 1,554
- Black or African American5.9% · 104
- Two or more races3.0% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barks
Barks 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
#16,195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,783
-118 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,780 places
2020
#15,879
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,766
-17 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Up 316 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,415 | 1,901 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,195 | 1,783 | 0.60 | -118 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 1,780 places |
| 2020 | #15,879 | 1,766 | 0.59 | -17 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 316 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 Barks 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 | #16,195 | #15,879 | 2.0% |
| Count | 1,783 | 1,766 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 0.59 | -1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barks bearers went from 1,783 to 1,766 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 316 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,195 to #15,879.
FAQ
Barks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barks?
Name Census estimates that about 2,025 living Americans carry the surname Barks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 169,261 residents.
How common is Barks?
Barks ranks #15,879 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,766 people with the surname Barks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,025), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Barks.
Has Barks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barks went from 1,783 recorded bearers to 1,766. That is a decrease of 17 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,195 to #15,879.
What does the Census say about the background of Barks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barks, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Barks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (1,554 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Black (5.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Barks (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 Barks mean?
An English surname derived from a nickname for a loud or noisy person. 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 Barks (0.59 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 have the last name Barks?
See how many Americans have the surname Barks on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.