2000
#4,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,557
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.80
Rare Last name
Henke
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "henken," meaning "to hang" or "to suspend."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,251 Americans carry the last name Henke. That puts it at #4,766 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.41 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,541 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Henke 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
8.3K
1 in 41,541
Census rank
#4,766
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,195 bearers of the surname Henke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.41 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4766th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Henke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Henke
The surname HENKE originated in Germany, with roots dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name Henk or Henrich, which means "ruler of the home" or "estate ruler." This name was commonly used in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland.
The earliest known record of the surname HENKE can be traced back to the 13th century in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain Henricus Henke was mentioned in a local chronicle from 1264. This suggests that the name had already established itself as a hereditary surname by that time.
In the 14th century, the HENKE surname appeared in various historical documents, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, which recorded land transactions and legal agreements in Saxony. One notable entry from 1378 mentions a Johannes Henke from the village of Borna.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the HENKE surname continued to spread across German-speaking regions. In 1492, a certain Matthias Henke was recorded as a citizen of Nuremberg, a prominent city in Bavaria. Additionally, the Henke family played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation, with Martin Henke (1499-1568) being a close associate of Martin Luther and serving as a Protestant pastor in Wittenberg.
In the 17th century, the HENKE surname gained further prominence with the birth of Johann Henke (1617-1681), a renowned German theologian and author who served as a professor at the University of Giessen. His works on biblical exegesis and church history were widely influential during his time.
Other notable individuals with the HENKE surname include Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henke (1768-1853), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Helmstedt, and Ernst Ludwig Theodor Henke (1804-1872), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Marburg.
The HENKE surname has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany, such as Henkenhagen, a village in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Henkendorf, a municipality in Saxony-Anhalt. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the HENKE surname who resided or held estates in those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Henke
Among Census respondents with the surname Henke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Henke 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 Henke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 6,741
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 191
- Two or more races2.3% · 167
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 26
- Black or African American0.3% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Henke
Henke 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
#4,690
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,566
+9 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 2.56
Rank movement Down 342 places
2020
#4,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,195
-371 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Down 76 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,348 | 7,557 | 2.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,690 | 7,566 | 2.56 | +9 bearers (+0.1%) | Down 342 places |
| 2020 | #4,766 | 7,195 | 2.41 | -371 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 76 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 Henke 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 | #4,690 | #4,766 | -1.6% |
| Count | 7,566 | 7,195 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.56 | 2.41 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Henke bearers went from 7,566 to 7,195 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 76 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,690 to #4,766.
FAQ
Henke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Henke?
Name Census estimates that about 8,251 living Americans carry the surname Henke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,541 residents.
How common is Henke?
Henke ranks #4,766 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.41 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,195 people with the surname Henke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.41 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.41 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Henke.
Has Henke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Henke went from 7,566 recorded bearers to 7,195. That is a decrease of 371 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,690 to #4,766.
What does the Census say about the background of Henke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Henke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (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 Henke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (6,741 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Henke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (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 Henke (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 Henke mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "henken," meaning "to hang" or "to suspend." 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 Henke (2.41 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 Henke?
Find out how common the surname Henke is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.