2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Gaetke
A surname of German origin, possibly derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Gaetke. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaetke 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Gaetke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaetke, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaetke
The surname GAETKE is of German origin, derived from the medieval Low German personal name "Gheteke" or "Ghetiken." This name was an old diminutive form of the Germanic name "Ghet," which itself may have been a shortened version of various compound names beginning with the element "gad," meaning "fortune" or "happiness." The GAETKE surname first emerged in the northern German regions during the Middle Ages, particularly in Mecklenburg and Pomerania.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the GAETKE name can be found in the Mecklenburg Monastic Records, dating back to the 14th century. These records document individuals bearing variants of the name, such as "Gheteke" and "Gheteken," living in the vicinity of monasteries and religious establishments in the region.
In the 16th century, the surname GAETKE appeared in various official records and chronicles across northern Germany. For instance, Hans Gaetke, a merchant from Stralsund, was mentioned in trade documents from the 1540s. Around the same period, a farmer named Claus Gaetke was recorded as a landowner in the village of Tressow, near Rostock.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the GAETKE surname spread more widely across northern German territories. Notable individuals from this time include Johann Gaetke (1623-1688), a respected jurist and legal scholar from Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Christoph Gaetke (1719-1788), a prominent pastor and theologian from Pomerania.
As the GAETKE family dispersed throughout the German-speaking lands, variations in spelling emerged, such as "Gätke," "Gatke," and "Gätcke." These spellings often reflected regional dialects and local pronunciation patterns.
In the 19th century, several individuals bearing the GAETKE surname made significant contributions in various fields. Among them were Karl Gaetke (1802-1877), a renowned botanist and naturalist from Silesia, and Friedrich Gaetke (1829-1901), a celebrated author and poet from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Other notable figures with the GAETKE surname include Erich Gaetke (1856-1928), a prominent architect and city planner from Berlin, and Hans Gaetke (1891-1955), a German naval officer and U-boat commander during World War I.
Throughout its history, the GAETKE surname has maintained its strong roots in northern Germany, particularly in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, and Schleswig-Holstein, where many families bearing this name continue to reside.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaetke
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaetke, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Gaetke 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 Gaetke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 3
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaetke
Gaetke 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-7 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,344 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,524 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 15,344 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4,524 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 Gaetke 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 | #144,141 | #148,665 | -3.1% |
| Count | 115 | 111 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaetke bearers went from 115 to 111 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4,524 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #148,665.
FAQ
Gaetke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaetke?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Gaetke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Gaetke?
Gaetke ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Gaetke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Gaetke.
Has Gaetke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaetke went from 115 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaetke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaetke, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%). 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 Gaetke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaetke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Hispanic (4.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.7%). 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 Gaetke (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 Gaetke mean?
A surname of German origin, possibly derived from a place name. 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 Gaetke (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 Gaetke?
Want to know how many people are called Gaetke? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.