2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bonke
A variant spelling of the German surname Bohne, meaning "bean".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Bonke. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bonke 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Bonke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonke, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bonke
The surname Bonke is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Low German word "bunk," which means a large log or tree trunk. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked with logs or timber.
One of the earliest documented references to the Bonke surname can be found in the historical records of the city of Hamburg, where a merchant named Hinrich Bonke is mentioned in the year 1295. The spelling variations at the time included Bonke, Buncke, and Buncken.
In the 15th century, the Bonke family was well-established in the town of Lüneburg, located in Lower Saxony. Records from this period show several members of the Bonke family holding positions of prominence within the town's guilds and local government.
The Bonke name also appears in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe. In 1487, a merchant named Johann Bonke is recorded as having traded goods between the cities of Lübeck and Bruges.
One notable figure in the history of the Bonke surname is Christoph Bonke, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived from 1551 to 1619. He served as a professor of law at the University of Rostock and published several influential works on Roman and civil law.
Another significant individual was Johann Georg Bonke, a Lutheran theologian and pastor who lived from 1674 to 1738. He served as the superintendent of the Lutheran Church in the town of Querfurt and was known for his scholarly works on religious subjects.
In the 18th century, the Bonke name can be found in the records of the town of Celle, where a family of merchants and landowners bearing the surname resided. One member, Johann Friedrich Bonke (1723-1798), served as the mayor of Celle from 1782 to 1798.
The Bonke surname also has a connection to the town of Bremervörde, where a family of that name owned a large estate and manor house in the 19th century. Notably, Heinrich Bonke (1821-1888) was a prominent landowner and businessman in the region.
While the Bonke surname has its roots in northern Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration and migration. However, its origins can be traced back to the Low German word "bunk" and its early associations with the timber industry and merchant guilds in medieval and early modern Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bonke
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonke, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Bonke 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 Bonke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bonke
Bonke 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+14 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,212 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-26 bearers (-19.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 23,292 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 3,212 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -26 bearers (-19.7%) | Down 23,292 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 Bonke 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 | #129,047 | #152,339 | -18.0% |
| Count | 132 | 106 | -19.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bonke bearers went from 132 to 106 (-19.7% change). The surname moved down 23,292 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #152,339.
FAQ
Bonke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bonke?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Bonke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Bonke?
Bonke ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Bonke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Bonke.
Has Bonke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bonke went from 132 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 26 (-19.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Bonke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bonke, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Bonke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bonke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Hispanic (3.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Bonke (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 Bonke mean?
A variant spelling of the German surname Bohne, meaning "bean". 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 Bonke (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 common is the surname Bonke?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Bonke, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.