2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Birken
A surname derived from the German word "Birke" meaning "birch tree".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Birken. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Birken 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Birken in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Birken, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Birken
The surname BIRKEN is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Birke," which means "birch tree." This suggests that the name may have been initially used to identify individuals who lived near or worked with birch trees.
BIRKEN is a locational surname, meaning it likely referred to a person or family from a specific place or region. It could have been derived from a town or village name containing the word "Birke," such as Birkenau or Birkenfeld, which were common place names in Germany during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname BIRKEN can be found in the records of the city of Hamburg, where a certain Hans Birken was mentioned in a document dated 1568. Another early record comes from the town of Hildesheim, where a man named Jost Birken was listed in a census from 1597.
In the 17th century, a notable individual bearing the surname BIRKEN was Sigmund von Birken (1626-1681), a German poet and writer who was born in Wildstein, Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). His works included religious poetry and hymns, as well as plays and satires.
During the 18th century, the BIRKEN surname appeared in various German-speaking regions. One example is Johann Birken (1738-1813), a German composer and organist who was born in Reuchen, Prussia (now part of Poland).
In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the surname BIRKEN was Ernst Birken (1829-1897), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Reichstag (the imperial parliament) from 1871 to 1881.
Another notable individual was Gottfried Birken (1841-1910), a German architect who designed several important buildings in Berlin, including the Reichspatentamt (Imperial Patent Office) and the Reichsversicherungsamt (Imperial Insurance Office).
While the surname BIRKEN is predominantly found in Germany and other German-speaking regions, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, the earliest and most significant historical records of the name can be traced back to its German origins and the various individuals who bore this surname throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Birken
Among Census respondents with the surname Birken, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Birken 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 Birken surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 8
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Birken
Birken 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,104 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 630 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,104 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 630 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 Birken 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 | #143,511 | 0.4% |
| Count | 115 | 118 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Birken bearers went from 115 to 118 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 630 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #143,511.
FAQ
Birken surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Birken?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Birken. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Birken?
Birken ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Birken. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Birken.
Has Birken become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Birken went from 115 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 3 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #144,141 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Birken?
Among Census respondents with the surname Birken, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.8%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Birken in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Birken appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (6.8%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Birken (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 Birken mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Birke" meaning "birch tree". 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 Birken (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 are called Birken?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Birken at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.