Burkhammer last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Burkhammer

A German surname possibly derived from places named Burg and elements related to hammers or metal.

Burkhammer, 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 Burkhammer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burkhammer in America

Burkhammer is the 40856th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burkhammer surname appeared 534 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 Burkhammer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burkhammer 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 40856 38644 5.56%
Count 534 538 -0.75%
Proportion per 100k 0.18 0.20 -10.53%

The history of the last name Burkhammer

The surname Burkhammer has its origins in Germany, emerging in the late 15th century. It is derived from the German words "Burg" meaning "castle" or "fortified town," and "Hammer" which refers to a type of hammer or mallet used by a blacksmith or metalworker. The name likely originated from a place name associated with a castle or town where metalworking or blacksmithing was a prominent trade.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Burkhammer can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Saxon region of Germany, dating back to the 16th century. In this document, a certain "Hans Burkhammer" is mentioned as a resident of the town of Freiberg, known for its mining and metalworking industries.

In the 17th century, the name Burkhammer appeared in the records of the city of Nuremberg, which was a center of metalworking and armament production during the Renaissance period. A notable figure from this time was Johann Burkhammer (1598-1672), a respected gunsmith and armorer who supplied firearms to the city's militia.

As the name suggests a connection to metalworking and fortified towns, it is possible that some early bearers of the name were involved in the construction or maintenance of castle fortifications, or worked as blacksmiths or metalworkers in these locations.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the Burkhammer surname was Friedrich Burkhammer (1813-1892), a German philosopher and writer who authored several works on metaphysics and the nature of reality.

Another notable individual was Wilhelm Burkhammer (1869-1945), a German engineer and inventor who held numerous patents for industrial machinery and manufacturing processes.

While the name Burkhammer is not as common today, it has a rich history linked to the metalworking and armament industries of medieval and Renaissance Germany, as well as contributions to philosophy and engineering in more recent times.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burkhammer

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

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 Burkhammer was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.51% 510
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.69% 9
Hispanic Origin 1.31% 7

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.51% 95.54% -0.03%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% 1.12% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.69% 1.30% 26.09%
Hispanic 1.31% 1.12% 15.64%

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

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

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"Burkhammer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 11, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/burkhammer-surname-popularity/.

"Burkhammer last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/burkhammer-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 July, 2025

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

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