Buikema last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Buikema

A Dutch surname derived from a placename referring to someone from the region near Buikum or Buykem.

Buikema, 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 Buikema surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Buikema in America

Buikema is the 36585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Buikema surname appeared 611 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Buikema.

We can also compare 2010 data for Buikema 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 36585 40139 -9.26%
Count 611 514 17.24%
Proportion per 100k 0.21 0.19 10.00%

The history of the last name Buikema

The surname BUIKEMA has its origins in the Netherlands, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "buik" meaning "belly" or "stomach" and "heem" meaning "home" or "place of origin." This suggests that the name may have referred to a person who lived near a prominent or distinctive landform that resembled a belly or stomach.

The earliest recorded instances of the BUIKEMA surname can be found in Dutch church records and municipal archives from the 1500s and 1600s, particularly in the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. Some of the earliest spellings include Buickema, Buykema, and Buyckema, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings in that era.

One of the earliest known individuals with the BUIKEMA surname was Sjoerd Buikema, who was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland, in 1583. He was a merchant and alderman in his hometown, and records show that he was involved in local governance and trade affairs.

Another notable BUIKEMA was Pieter Buikema, born in Groningen in 1647. He was a renowned scholar and philosopher who authored several treatises on metaphysics and ethics. His works were widely read and discussed in academic circles across Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the 18th century, the BUIKEMA surname gained prominence with the birth of Tjaard Buikema in 1721. He was a successful shipbuilder and maritime entrepreneur who owned several shipyards in the Dutch coastal towns of Harlingen and Delfzijl. His vessels were instrumental in the flourishing Dutch maritime trade of that era.

The 19th century saw the emergence of Dirk Buikema, born in 1834 in the village of Middelstum, Groningen. He was a pioneering agriculturist who developed innovative techniques for cultivating crops in the region's unique soil conditions. His methods were widely adopted by other farmers and helped boost agricultural productivity in the area.

In more recent history, the name BUIKEMA has been associated with notable figures such as Jaap Buikema, a Dutch footballer who played for SC Heerenveen in the 1960s and 1970s, and Gerrit Buikema, a respected theologian and author who published several works on Christian ethics and philosophy in the late 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Buikema

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

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 Buikema was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.40% 589
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.82% 5
Hispanic Origin 2.13% 13

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 Buikema has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.40% 99.03% -2.69%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.82% 0.00% 200.00%
Hispanic 2.13% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Buikema last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 3, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/buikema-surname-popularity/.

"Buikema last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/buikema-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 July, 2025

Buikema last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/buikema-surname-popularity/.

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