Fike last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Fike

An occupational surname for a troublemaker or quarrelsome person, derived from the Middle English word "fiken," meaning to fidget or fuss.

Fike, 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 Fike surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fike in America

Fike is the 5459th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fike surname appeared 6,374 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Fike.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fike 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 5459 5161 5.61%
Count 6,374 6,237 2.17%
Proportion per 100k 2.16 2.31 -6.71%

The history of the last name Fike

The surname Fike has its origins in the German language, and is believed to have first emerged in the 16th century in the regions of central and southern Germany. It is likely derived from the German word "ficken", which meant "to move quickly" or "to fidget". This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who was energetic or restless.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Fike surname dates back to 1564, when a Johannes Fike was mentioned in a document from the town of Nuremberg. In the following century, the name appeared in various church records and tax rolls across Bavaria and other parts of southern Germany.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, many German families with the Fike surname began to migrate to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. One notable individual from this time was Johann Fike, a German-born farmer who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1700s and became one of the first Mennonite pioneers in the region.

In the 19th century, the Fike name gained prominence in the United States through individuals such as Samuel Fike, a prominent businessman and landowner in Ohio who lived from 1792 to 1864. Another notable figure was John Fike, a Union soldier during the American Civil War who fought in several major battles and was born in 1837.

As the Fike surname spread across different regions, various spelling variations emerged, including Fick, Ficke, and Fickey. Some of these variations may have been influenced by the similar-sounding German word "fick", meaning "quick" or "nimble".

Throughout the centuries, the Fike surname has been carried by a diverse array of individuals, from scholars and artists to military leaders and entrepreneurs. One well-known figure was William Fike, a pioneering American botanist and horticulturist who lived from 1847 to 1922. Another was Albert Fike, a celebrated German-American painter and illustrator born in 1879 and known for his depictions of rural life.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fike

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

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 Fike was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.93% 5,987
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.79% 114
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.77% 49
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.39% 25
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.52% 97
Hispanic Origin 1.60% 102

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 Fike has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.93% 94.87% -1.00%
Black 1.79% 1.96% -9.07%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.77% 0.43% 56.67%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.39% 0.46% -16.47%
Two or More Races 1.52% 1.07% 34.75%
Hispanic 1.60% 1.20% 28.57%

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

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

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"Fike last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/fike-surname-popularity/.

"Fike last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/fike-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Fike last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/fike-surname-popularity/.

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