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

Ehmke, 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 Ehmke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ehmke in America

Ehmke is the 29334th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ehmke surname appeared 806 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 Ehmke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ehmke 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 Ehmke

The surname Ehmke originated in northern Germany, particularly in the areas around Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. It is believed to have derived from the Old Germanic word "ahu," meaning "water" or "river," combined with the suffix "-ke," which denotes a diminutive or a small something. This suggests that Ehmke may have initially referred to someone who lived near a small stream or a brook.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ehmke can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historic documents from Bremen, dating back to the 14th century. The name appears as "Ehmke" and "Ehmeken," indicating variations in spelling at that time.

In the late 15th century, a man named Johann Ehmke was mentioned in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful medieval trading association in northern Europe. He was a merchant based in Lübeck and played a role in the organization's maritime trade activities.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ehmke family seemed to have been well-established in the region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as evidenced by various church records and land ownership documents. One notable individual from this period was Bartholomäus Ehmke (1560-1623), a Lutheran pastor and theologian who served in the town of Gnoien.

In the 18th century, a branch of the Ehmke family migrated to the Duchy of Holstein, where they became prominent landowners and farmers. Johann Friedrich Ehmke (1720-1788) was a respected estate owner and agricultural reformer, known for his innovative farming methods and advocacy for improved agricultural practices.

Another significant figure bearing the Ehmke surname was Carl Friedrich Ehmke (1801-1875), a German jurist and legal scholar from Hamburg. He made important contributions to the development of commercial law and was widely recognized for his expertise in maritime and insurance law.

As the Ehmke family spread across northern Germany over the centuries, they maintained their connections to their ancestral homeland and the areas where the name first emerged. Despite its relatively uncommon occurrence, the surname Ehmke has left its mark on the region's history and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ehmke

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

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

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

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