2000
#103,193
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 161
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Elker
A surname derived from a place name containing the German "elker" meaning "elder tree".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Elker. 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 Elker 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 Elker 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 Elker, 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 Elker
The surname ELKER originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "elker," meaning "alder tree." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near an alder grove or worked with alder wood.
The name appears to have been most prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, with some early recorded instances in village records and church registers from those areas. One of the earliest known references is found in the Nuremberg Municipal Archives, which mentions an Elker family living in the city in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the name is documented in the parish records of several small towns in the Thuringian Forest region of central Germany. An entry from 1625 in the baptismal register of Ilmenau references a child named Hans Elker, son of Matthias Elker and his wife, Anna.
The Elker name also appears in some historical legal documents, such as the court records of the town of Gotha from the late 1600s, which mention a certain Johann Elker who was involved in a dispute over property boundaries.
As the centuries passed, the name spread to other parts of Europe, with some notable individuals bearing the surname. One example is the German artist and engraver Georg Elker (1597-1674), known for his intricate etchings and copper engravings depicting landscapes and architectural scenes.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the Elker name was the Prussian military officer and writer Friedrich Elker (1821-1892), who served in the Austro-Prussian War and later wrote memoirs and historical accounts of his experiences.
Another individual of note was the German-American journalist and author Carl Elker (1872-1947), who emigrated to the United States in the late 1800s and worked as a newspaper editor and author in New York City.
As the Elker name spread across Europe and beyond, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Elker, Elcker, and Elkert, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic shifts over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Elker
Among Census respondents with the surname Elker, 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 Elker 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 Elker 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 Elker
Elker 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-47 bearers (-29.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 42,027 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,226 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #103,193 | 161 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -47 bearers (-29.2%) | Down 42,027 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4,226 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 Elker 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 | #145,220 | #149,446 | -2.9% |
| Count | 114 | 110 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Elker bearers went from 114 to 110 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4,226 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #149,446.
FAQ
Elker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Elker?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Elker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Elker?
Elker 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 Elker. 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 Elker.
Has Elker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Elker went from 114 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Elker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Elker, 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 Elker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Elker 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 Elker (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 Elker mean?
A surname derived from a place name containing the German "elker" meaning "elder tree". 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 Elker (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 are called Elker?
Find out how many people have the last name Elker on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.