2000
#32,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 666
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Very Rare Last name
Borck
A toponymic surname derived from a location or place name in northern Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 774 Americans carry the last name Borck. That puts it at #35,796 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 442,835 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Borck 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
774
1 in 442,835
Census rank
#35,796
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
675
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 675 bearers of the surname Borck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35796th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Borck, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Borck
The surname Borck originated in Germany. It has its roots in the Low German word "bork," which means "bark" or "tree bark." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who worked with bark or lived near a wooded area.
The earliest recorded instance of the Borck surname can be traced back to the 14th century in the region of Lower Saxony, Germany. During this period, the name appeared in various historical documents and records, often with slight variations in spelling, such as Borck, Borcke, or Bork.
One notable historical reference to the name Borck is found in the Winsener Bürgerbuch, a citizen's book from the town of Winsen an der Luhe, dated back to the 15th century. This document contains entries of individuals bearing the Borck surname, indicating their presence in the region during that time.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure with the Borck surname was Caspar Borck, a German theologian and philosopher. He was born in 1576 in Oldenburg and made significant contributions to the field of theology through his writings and teachings.
Another historically significant individual with the Borck surname was Friedrich Wilhelm von Borck, a Prussian general and military reformer who lived from 1675 to 1742. He played a crucial role in restructuring and modernizing the Prussian army during the reign of King Frederick William I.
The Borck name also appears in connection with several place names in Germany. For example, the village of Borcken in Lower Saxony likely derived its name from the Borck surname, suggesting a historical presence of the family in that area.
Johann Christoph Borck, born in 1675 in Mecklenburg, was a German jurist and legal scholar known for his contributions to the field of civil law. His works on legal principles and practices were widely influential during his time.
Lastly, Fedor von Borck, a German landowner and politician, lived from 1817 to 1890. He served as a member of the Prussian House of Representatives and was actively involved in advocating for the rights of landowners and farmers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borck
Among Census respondents with the surname Borck, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Borck 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 Borck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 622
- Two or more races2.8% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 18
- Black or African American1.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Borck
Borck 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
#33,036
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 693
+27 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 507 places
2020
#35,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 675
-18 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 2,760 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #32,529 | 666 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #33,036 | 693 | 0.23 | +27 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 507 places |
| 2020 | #35,796 | 675 | 0.23 | -18 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 2,760 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 Borck 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 | #33,036 | #35,796 | -8.4% |
| Count | 693 | 675 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.23 | 0.23 | -1.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Borck bearers went from 693 to 675 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 2,760 positions in the national ranking, going from #33,036 to #35,796.
FAQ
Borck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Borck?
Name Census estimates that about 774 living Americans carry the surname Borck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 442,835 residents.
How common is Borck?
Borck ranks #35,796 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 675 people with the surname Borck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (774), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Borck.
Has Borck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Borck went from 693 recorded bearers to 675. That is a decrease of 18 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #33,036 to #35,796.
What does the Census say about the background of Borck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Borck, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Borck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (622 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Borck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Borck (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 Borck mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a location or place name in northern Germany. 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 Borck (0.23 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 Borck?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Borck at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.