2010
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Beckemeier
A German surname derived from an occupational name for a maker of wooden bowls or tubs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Beckemeier. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Beckemeier 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Beckemeier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckemeier, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Beckemeier
The surname BECKEMEIER has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Lower Saxony, Germany, where it was likely a locative name, derived from a place name or a geographical feature.
One possible derivation of the name BECKEMEIER is from the Old German words "beke" meaning "stream" or "brook" and "meier" meaning "farm" or "estate". This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on a farm or estate near a stream or brook. Another theory is that the name is a combination of the German words "beck" meaning "baker" and "meier", indicating that the original bearer of the name may have been a baker or someone associated with a bakery.
In the early historical records, the name appears with various spellings, such as Beckenmeier, Beckemeyer, and Beckemayer, reflecting the regional variations and dialects of the time. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the records of the city of Bremen, Germany, from the late 15th century, where a merchant named Hans Beckemeier is mentioned.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname BECKEMEIER. In the 18th century, Johann Heinrich Beckemeier (1728-1808) was a renowned German theologian and philosopher who wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy. During the same period, Wilhelm Beckemeier (1753-1821) was a prominent German architect and urban planner, known for his work on several churches and public buildings in the city of Hamburg.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Beckemeier (1825-1891) was a German painter renowned for his landscapes and coastal scenes, while August Beckemeier (1840-1912) was a successful businessman and industrialist who established several textile factories in the Ruhr region of Germany.
Moving into the 20th century, one of the most well-known bearers of the name was Hans Beckemeier (1908-1994), a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who served as a member of the Bundestag (German parliament) from 1957 to 1969.
While the name BECKEMEIER may have evolved over time and spread to different parts of the world through migration, its origins can be traced back to the German-speaking regions of northern Europe, where it was likely first used as a locative or occupational surname several centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beckemeier
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckemeier, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Beckemeier 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 Beckemeier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Beckemeier
Beckemeier appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,354 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 2,354 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 Beckemeier 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 | #144,141 | #146,495 | -1.6% |
| Count | 115 | 114 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Beckemeier bearers went from 115 to 114 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 2,354 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #146,495.
FAQ
Beckemeier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Beckemeier?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Beckemeier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Beckemeier?
Beckemeier ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Beckemeier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Beckemeier.
Has Beckemeier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Beckemeier went from 115 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Beckemeier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Beckemeier, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Beckemeier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Beckemeier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Beckemeier (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 Beckemeier mean?
A German surname derived from an occupational name for a maker of wooden bowls or tubs. 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 Beckemeier (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 Beckemeier?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.