Bathke last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Bathke

A German surname transferred from a topographic name for someone living near a brook or stream.

Bathke, 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 Bathke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bathke in America

Bathke is the 33450th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bathke surname appeared 682 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 Bathke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bathke 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank33450323383.38%
Count6826711.63%
Proportion per 100k0.230.25-8.33%

The history of the last name Bathke

The surname Bathke originates from Germany, with its earliest known roots traceable to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Bach," meaning "stream" or "brook," and the suffix "-ke," which was commonly used to form diminutive or locational names. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a small stream or brook.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bathke can be found in the parish records of the town of Neuruppin, Brandenburg, Germany, in the late 16th century. These records mention several individuals with variations of the name, such as Bäthke and Bathke, indicating that the spelling was not yet standardized.

In the 17th century, the name Bathke appeared in various regions of Germany, including Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and Silesia. Several notable individuals bore this surname during this period, such as Johannes Bathke, a Lutheran minister born in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) in 1625, who served as the rector of the Latin School in Stralsund.

During the 18th century, the name Bathke became more widespread throughout Germany, with records showing individuals bearing this surname in various professions, such as farmers, artisans, and merchants. One notable figure from this era was Carl Friedrich Bathke, born in 1784 in Neuruppin, who served as a military officer in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars.

As German immigration to North America increased in the 19th century, the Bathke surname was carried across the Atlantic. One of the earliest known instances of the name in the United States is that of Johann Bathke, who arrived in New York City in 1846 from Prussia.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, individuals with the surname Bathke continued to make their mark in various fields. For example, August Bathke, born in 1856 in Germany, was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Another notable figure was Karl Bathke, born in 1892 in Germany, who became a prominent journalist and author, publishing several books on German history and culture.

While the surname Bathke is not among the most common in the world, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions throughout the centuries. The name's origins can be traced back to the German heartland, reflecting the country's linguistic and cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bathke

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

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 Bathke was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only94.57%645
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races1.17%8
Hispanic Origin3.08%21

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 Bathke has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White94.57%96.57%-2.09%
Black(S)%0.00%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%0.75%(S)%
Two or More Races1.17%(S)%(S)%
Hispanic3.08%1.79%52.98%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.

Search
Search
Background shape