2000
#11,864
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,416
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Gerke
A German occupational surname referring to a tanner or leather maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,522 Americans carry the last name Gerke. That puts it at #13,285 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,906 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerke 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
2.5K
1 in 135,906
Census rank
#13,285
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,199 bearers of the surname Gerke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13285th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerke
The surname Gerke has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the early 16th century. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from the town of Gerke or Gerken in the region of Lower Saxony. The name may also be linked to the Old Germanic word "ger," meaning "spear," suggesting that it could have been an occupational name for someone who made or used spears.
One of the earliest documented instances of the Gerke surname can be found in the records of the city of Lüneburg in Lower Saxony, where a person named Hans Gerke was mentioned in 1517. Another early reference comes from the town of Uelzen, also in Lower Saxony, where a certain Jurgen Gerke was recorded in 1568.
The Gerke name appeared in various historical records throughout the following centuries, with spelling variations such as Gercke, Gerken, and Gerkens being common. For example, in the 17th century, a prominent figure named Johann Gerke (1612-1686) was a renowned jurist and legal scholar from the city of Rostock.
During the 18th century, the name gained recognition through individuals like Johann Gerke (1717-1786), a renowned theologian and author from Hildesheim, and Gottfried Gerke (1728-1791), a notable composer and organist from Brunswick.
In the 19th century, the Gerke surname continued to be prevalent, with notable figures such as Gustav Gerke (1820-1890), a German politician and lawyer who served as the Lord Mayor of Berlin from 1886 to 1890. Another notable individual from this period was Otto Gerke (1833-1899), a German-American architect and engineer who designed several prominent buildings in New York City.
As the Gerke family spread across Germany and beyond, the name also took on various localized forms, such as Gerken in the Netherlands and Gerken or Gjerken in Norway and Denmark, reflecting the migration patterns of those bearing the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerke
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerke 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 Gerke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 2,046
- Two or more races3.5% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerke
Gerke 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
#11,592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,709
+293 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Up 272 places
2020
#13,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,199
-510 bearers (-18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,693 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,864 | 2,416 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,592 | 2,709 | 0.92 | +293 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 272 places |
| 2020 | #13,285 | 2,199 | 0.74 | -510 bearers (-18.8%) | Down 1,693 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 Gerke 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 | #11,592 | #13,285 | -14.6% |
| Count | 2,709 | 2,199 | -18.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.74 | -20.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerke bearers went from 2,709 to 2,199 (-18.8% change). The surname moved down 1,693 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,592 to #13,285.
FAQ
Gerke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerke?
Name Census estimates that about 2,522 living Americans carry the surname Gerke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,906 residents.
How common is Gerke?
Gerke ranks #13,285 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,199 people with the surname Gerke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,522), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Gerke.
Has Gerke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerke went from 2,709 recorded bearers to 2,199. That is a decrease of 510 (-18.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,592 to #13,285.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Gerke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (2,046 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Gerke (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 Gerke mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a tanner or leather maker. 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 Gerke (0.74 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 surname Gerke?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.