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

Becker, 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 Becker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Becker in America

Becker is the 357th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Becker surname appeared 87,859 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 30 people would have the surname Becker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Becker 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 Becker

The surname Becker originated from the German language, and its earliest roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Germany. The name is derived from the Old German word "bach," which means "stream" or "brook," and the occupational term "becker," which referred to a baker.

In the early medieval period, the name was often written as "Beckere" or "Beckher," reflecting the phonetic spelling of the time. As the surname evolved, it became associated with individuals who lived near a stream or worked as bakers, or both.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Becker can be found in the Heidelberg Manuscript, a 13th-century document that lists several individuals with the surname. In the 14th century, a prominent figure named Johannes Becker was mentioned in the records of the city of Cologne.

The surname Becker also appears in the Berne Shilling Book, a medieval tax register from the city of Berne, Switzerland, dating back to the early 15th century. This suggests that the name had spread beyond the borders of Germany by that time.

During the Renaissance period, several notable individuals bore the surname Becker. One such person was Cornelius Becker (1561-1604), a Dutch cartographer and engraver who created some of the earliest detailed maps of the Netherlands.

Another significant figure was Johann Philipp Becker (1638-1711), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha.

In the 18th century, Georg Becker (1719-1783), a German jurist and philosopher, gained recognition for his work on natural law and the philosophy of law.

Moving into the 19th century, a notable bearer of the Becker surname was Nikolaus Becker (1809-1845), a German revolutionary and poet who was involved in the failed Revolutions of 1848-1849.

In the United States, John Becker (1830-1904) was a prominent figure in the labor movement and co-founded the International Typographical Union, one of the earliest national labor unions in the country.

These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the surname Becker, a name with deep roots in German culture and tradition.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Becker

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

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

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

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