2000
#8,866
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,396
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.26
Rare Last name
Fenske
A surname of German origin, derived from a shortened form of the personal name Laurence or Lawrence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,625 Americans carry the last name Fenske. That puts it at #9,784 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 94,553 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fenske 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
3.6K
1 in 94,553
Census rank
#9,784
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,161 bearers of the surname Fenske in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9784th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fenske, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fenske
The surname Fenske originates from Germany, where it first emerged during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Low German word "fenne," which refers to a marshy or swampy area. This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive term referring to someone who lived near or worked in such a region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fenske can be found in the Deutsches Familiennamen-Lexikon, a comprehensive dictionary of German family names. This reference work cites a certain Hermen Fenske, who was documented in the town of Plau in Mecklenburg, Germany, as early as 1419.
In the 16th century, the name Fenske appears in various historical records from the region of Pomerania, which was then part of the German states. For example, a Valten Fenske is mentioned in the town of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) in 1535.
As the name spread across German-speaking areas, variations in spelling emerged. Some of these include Fenskey, Fenski, and Fenschen. These alternative spellings likely reflect regional dialects and differences in pronunciation.
One notable individual bearing the Fenske surname was Johann Fenske, a German composer and organist who lived from 1668 to 1732. He served as the court organist for the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and composed several works for organ and other instruments.
Another historical figure with the Fenske name was Carl Fenske, a German painter and illustrator who was born in 1819 and died in 1882. He is known for his landscape paintings and illustrations of fairy tales and legends.
In the 19th century, the name Fenske can be found in various German-language place names, such as Fenskenhausen, a village in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. This further reinforces the connection between the surname and geographic locations associated with swampy or marshy areas.
Other notable individuals with the Fenske surname include Walther Fenske, a German military officer who served in World War II and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his bravery. He was born in 1897 and died in 1962.
Additionally, there was a German-American artist named Hildegard Fenske, who was born in 1899 and died in 1990. She was known for her abstract expressionist paintings and worked primarily in New York City.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fenske
Among Census respondents with the surname Fenske, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Fenske 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 Fenske surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,928
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 104
- Two or more races2.6% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 26
- Black or African American0.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fenske
Fenske 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
#9,761
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,320
-76 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 895 places
2020
#9,784
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,161
-159 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,866 | 3,396 | 1.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,761 | 3,320 | 1.13 | -76 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 895 places |
| 2020 | #9,784 | 3,161 | 1.06 | -159 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 23 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 Fenske 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 | #9,761 | #9,784 | -0.2% |
| Count | 3,320 | 3,161 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.06 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fenske bearers went from 3,320 to 3,161 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,761 to #9,784.
FAQ
Fenske surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fenske?
Name Census estimates that about 3,625 living Americans carry the surname Fenske. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 94,553 residents.
How common is Fenske?
Fenske ranks #9,784 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,161 people with the surname Fenske. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,625), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Fenske.
Has Fenske become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fenske went from 3,320 recorded bearers to 3,161. That is a decrease of 159 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,761 to #9,784.
What does the Census say about the background of Fenske?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fenske, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Fenske in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,928 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fenske appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Fenske (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 Fenske mean?
A surname of German origin, derived from a shortened form of the personal name Laurence or Lawrence. 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 Fenske (1.06 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 share the surname Fenske?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.