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

Decker, 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 Decker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Decker in America

Decker is the 597th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Decker surname appeared 56,576 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 19 people would have the surname Decker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Decker 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 Decker

The surname Decker originates from Germany and the Netherlands, and has been in use since at least the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "dekker," meaning "roofer" or "thatcher." The name likely referred to someone who worked as a roofer or thatcher by trade.

In medieval times, surnames often derived from occupations, and the name Decker would have identified a person who worked in the construction or repair of roofs. As families began to adopt hereditary surnames, the name Decker became established in regions where German and Dutch were spoken.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Decker can be found in the Stadtbücher (town books) of Cologne, Germany, from the year 1292, where a certain "Henrich Dekker" is mentioned. The name also appears in various other historical records from the 14th and 15th centuries in towns and cities across Germany and the Low Countries.

In the Netherlands, the name Decker is sometimes spelled as "Dekker," and there are several notable individuals with this spelling throughout history. One of the earliest is the 16th-century humanist and scholar Dirck Volkertszoon Coornhert (1522-1590), who was also known as "Theodoor Decker."

Another famous bearer of the name was the Dutch Golden Age painter Cornelis Decker (1610-1678), known for his genre scenes and portraits. In the literary world, the Dutch writer Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887), who wrote under the pen name "Multatuli," is considered one of the most important figures in Dutch literature.

In Germany, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Decker was Hans Decker (c. 1500-1570), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony. Later, there was the German astronomer Johann Decker (1625-1686), who made significant contributions to the study of comets and the calculation of planetary orbits.

The surname Decker has also been present in other parts of Europe, including England, where it likely arrived with Dutch or German immigrants. One notable English bearer of the name was Sir Matthew Decker (1679-1749), a merchant and writer who published several influential works on trade and economics.

Throughout its history, the surname Decker has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, from skilled tradesmen and artisans to scholars, writers, and scientists. While its origins can be traced back to a humble occupation, the name has become widely dispersed and has acquired a rich tapestry of meanings and associations over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Decker

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

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

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

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