2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gerkens
Of Low German origins, a surname denoting someone from the German town of Gerken.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Gerkens. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerkens 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Gerkens in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerkens, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerkens
The surname GERKENS is of German origin, emerging during the late medieval period. It is derived from the old German word "gerok," which means "reed" or "rush." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a reed bed or worked with reeds.
GERKENS is a variant spelling of the more common German surname Gerken, which has its roots in northern Germany, particularly in the regions of Lower Saxony and Bremen. The earliest recorded instances of the Gerken name can be traced back to the 14th century in Bremen.
One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was Hans Gerken, a merchant who lived in Bremen during the late 15th century. Records show that he was involved in the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic alliance of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe.
In the 16th century, the GERKENS surname appears in church records from the town of Stade, located in Lower Saxony. A notable figure from this time was Hinrich GERKENS, a landowner and farmer who was born in Stade in 1542.
During the 17th century, the GERKENS name can be found in various records from the city of Hamburg. One notable individual was Johann GERKENS, a prominent lawyer and legal scholar who lived from 1620 to 1688.
Moving into the 18th century, the GERKENS surname gained prominence in the principality of Lippe, located in modern-day North Rhine-Westphalia. Friedrich GERKENS, born in 1712, was a respected theologian and author who served as a court preacher in the city of Detmold.
In the 19th century, the GERKENS name appeared in various parts of Germany, including the Rhineland and Westphalia regions. Carl GERKENS, born in 1833 in Cologne, was a renowned artist and painter known for his landscapes and religious works.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerkens
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerkens, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerkens 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 Gerkens surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 92
- Two or more races4.9% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerkens
Gerkens 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+4 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,191 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-18 bearers (-15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 15,527 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 5,191 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -18 bearers (-15.0%) | Down 15,527 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 Gerkens 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 | #139,228 | #154,755 | -11.2% |
| Count | 120 | 102 | -15.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerkens bearers went from 120 to 102 (-15.0% change). The surname moved down 15,527 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #154,755.
FAQ
Gerkens surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerkens?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Gerkens. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Gerkens?
Gerkens ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Gerkens. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gerkens.
Has Gerkens become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerkens went from 120 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 18 (-15.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerkens?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerkens, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Gerkens in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerkens appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Gerkens (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 Gerkens mean?
Of Low German origins, a surname denoting someone from the German town of Gerken. 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 Gerkens (0.03 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 common is the surname Gerkens?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Gerkens is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.