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

Burkey, 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 Burkey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burkey in America

Burkey is the 7624th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burkey surname appeared 4,354 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Burkey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burkey 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 Burkey

The surname Burkey is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Bavaria, during the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "burg," meaning a fortified town or castle, and the suffix "-er," indicating a person associated with that place. This suggests that the name Burkey was likely borne by individuals who hailed from or lived in proximity to a fortified settlement.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burkey can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Duchy of Saxony, which mentions a certain "Burkehart" in the year 1182. This individual's name likely evolved into the modern form of Burkey over time.

In the 14th century, the Burkey name appears in various records from the city of Nuremberg, located in the Franconian region of Bavaria. These records document several individuals bearing this surname, such as Hans Burkey, a merchant who lived in the late 1300s.

During the 16th century, the Burkey name gained prominence in the nearby town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a family of that name became influential members of the local community. One notable figure from this era was Johann Burkey, a respected scholar and theologian who lived from 1525 to 1592.

As the centuries progressed, the Burkey surname spread beyond Bavaria to other parts of Germany and neighboring regions. In the 18th century, a prominent individual named Friedrich Burkey (1723-1798) was a renowned composer and organist from the city of Bayreuth in northern Bavaria.

Another notable bearer of the Burkey name was Karl Burkey (1861-1929), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in the city of Dresden during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

While the Burkey surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through various waves of migration. However, its origins and historical significance remain firmly rooted in the medieval and early modern periods of German history, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burkey

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

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

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

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