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

Denker, 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 Denker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Denker in America

Denker is the 16470th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Denker surname appeared 1,745 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 Denker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Denker 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 Denker

The surname Denker has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to derive from the German word "denken," meaning "to think" or "to ponder," which suggests that the name may have initially referred to a thoughtful or intellectual person.

The earliest known record of the Denker surname can be found in the town of Biberach, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, where a certain Hans Denker was documented in 1554. Over the following centuries, the name appeared in various German regions, particularly in the southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

One notable bearer of the Denker name was Arnold Denker, a German-American chess grandmaster who was born in 1914 in Kaunas, Lithuania, and later emigrated to the United States. He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1944 and 1946 and played in several Chess Olympiads for the American team.

Another prominent figure was Friedrich Denker, a German philosopher and theologian born in 1785 in Württemberg. He published several works on ethics and metaphysics and was an influential figure in the early 19th century German philosophical circles.

In the 18th century, Johann Denker, born in 1732 in Saxony, was a respected jurist and legal scholar who contributed significantly to the development of German civil law during his time.

The Denker name can also be traced back to places like Denkendorf, a town in Baden-Württemberg, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in certain regions.

Throughout history, variations of the name have appeared, such as Dencker, Denkert, and Denkner, reflecting local dialects and spelling conventions. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remain rooted in the German language and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Denker

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

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

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

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