2000
#30,645
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 718
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.27
Very Rare Last name
Enke
A German surname derived from a topographic name referring to an angle or bend in the land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 776 Americans carry the last name Enke. That puts it at #35,729 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 441,694 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Enke 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
776
1 in 441,694
Census rank
#35,729
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
677
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 677 bearers of the surname Enke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35729th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Enke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Enke
The surname Enke is of German origin, originating in the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the German word "enke," which means "narrow" or "confined." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a narrow or confined area, such as a valley or a small village.
The earliest recorded instances of the Enke surname can be traced back to the 14th century in various German regions, including Saxony, Bavaria, and the Rhineland. In some historical documents, the name appears with variations in spelling, such as Encke, Enk, or Enck.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Enke name was Johannes Enke, a merchant and landowner from Nuremberg, who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Wilhelm Enke, a German astronomer born in 1785, who made significant contributions to the study of comets and asteroids.
In the 16th century, the Enke surname was also found in various towns and villages across Germany, often associated with specific place names. For example, the village of Enkenbach in Rhineland-Palatinate may have had a connection to the Enke surname, as the suffix "-bach" means "stream" in German.
As the Enke family spread across different regions, some individuals achieved notable status. One such person was Johann Enke, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived in the late 16th century and published several influential works on Roman law.
Another prominent bearer of the Enke name was Friedrich Enke, a German publisher and bookseller born in 1783. He founded the renowned publishing house F.A. Brockhaus in Leipzig, which became one of the most respected publishers of encyclopedias and reference works in Germany.
Over the centuries, the Enke surname has continued to be present across various German-speaking regions, with individuals from different walks of life bearing this name. While the exact origins and meaning of the name may have evolved, it remains a testament to the rich cultural heritage and history of Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Enke
Among Census respondents with the surname Enke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Enke 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 Enke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 630
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 19
- Two or more races2.1% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Enke
Enke 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
#32,750
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 701
-17 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Down 2,105 places
2020
#35,729
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 677
-24 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 2,979 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #30,645 | 718 | 0.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,750 | 701 | 0.24 | -17 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 2,105 places |
| 2020 | #35,729 | 677 | 0.23 | -24 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 2,979 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 Enke 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 | #32,750 | #35,729 | -9.1% |
| Count | 701 | 677 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.23 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Enke bearers went from 701 to 677 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 2,979 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,750 to #35,729.
FAQ
Enke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Enke?
Name Census estimates that about 776 living Americans carry the surname Enke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 441,694 residents.
How common is Enke?
Enke ranks #35,729 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 677 people with the surname Enke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (776), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Enke.
Has Enke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Enke went from 701 recorded bearers to 677. That is a decrease of 24 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #32,750 to #35,729.
What does the Census say about the background of Enke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Enke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Enke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (630 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Enke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Enke (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 Enke mean?
A German surname derived from a topographic name referring to an angle or bend in the land. 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 Enke (0.23 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 Enke?
See how many people are called Enke on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.