2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Ebke
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place called Ebke.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Ebke. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ebke surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Ebke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ebke, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ebke
The surname EBKE is believed to have originated in Germany, likely during the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old German word "ebah," which means "boar" or "wild pig." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who hunted or worked with these animals.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Deutsches Familiennamen-Lexikon (German Family Names Lexicon) from 1594, which lists an individual named Hans Ebke residing in the town of Halberstadt, located in what is now the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
During the Middle Ages, the name appears to have been concentrated primarily in the northern regions of Germany, particularly in areas such as Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. However, over time, it spread to other parts of the country as well as neighboring regions.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the EBKE surname was Johann Ebke, a Lutheran theologian and author born in 1532 in the city of Lüneburg. He is known for his work "De Praesentia Corporis et Sanguinis Christi in Sacra Coena" (On the Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Supper), published in 1580.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Johann Heinrich Ebke, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1685 to 1742. He is best known for his religious paintings and engravings, many of which adorned churches and monasteries throughout Germany.
In the 19th century, Karl Ebke (1820-1892) was a German architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) and the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery).
One of the earliest recorded instances of the EBKE surname appearing in English historical records is found in the Registry of Deeds for the City of London, which mentions a merchant named Heinrich Ebke in 1674.
While the name EBKE is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of German surnames, carrying with it a unique history and connection to the country's past.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ebke
Among Census respondents with the surname Ebke, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Ebke bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ebke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 4
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ebke
Ebke appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-4 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,151 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+5 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,461 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 14,151 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.8%) | Up 5,461 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ebke surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #154,907 | #149,446 | 3.5% |
| Count | 105 | 110 | 4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ebke bearers went from 105 to 110 (+4.8% change). The surname moved up 5,461 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #149,446.
FAQ
Ebke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ebke?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Ebke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Ebke?
Ebke ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Ebke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Ebke.
Has Ebke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ebke went from 105 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 5 (+4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Ebke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ebke, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ebke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ebke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ebke (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ebke mean?
A locational German surname referring to someone from a place called Ebke. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ebke (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Ebke?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Ebke at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.