2000
#7,550
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,062
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.51
Rare Last name
Janke
A variant of the surname "Jahnke," derived from the Slavic given name "Janek" or "Jan," meaning "God is gracious."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,502 Americans carry the last name Janke. That puts it at #8,081 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,134 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Janke 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
4.5K
1 in 76,134
Census rank
#8,081
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,926 bearers of the surname Janke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8081st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Janke, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Janke
The surname Janke has its origins in Germany, and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Germanic personal name Johann, which is a variant of the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "God is gracious." The earliest known spelling of the name was Jancke.
Janke was initially found in the regions of Saxony and Prussia, where it was commonly used as a patronymic surname, indicating that the bearer was the son of someone named Johann. In some cases, the name may have also been an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked as a servant or attendant.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Janke can be found in the church records of the town of Merseburg, Saxony, from the year 1573. The name was also documented in the registers of the city of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) in the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the surname Janke was Johann Georg Janke (1720-1786), a German theologian and author who served as a pastor in the town of Lehnin, Brandenburg. Another individual of note was Friedrich Janke (1797-1868), a German businessman and philanthropist from Berlin, who made significant contributions to the development of the city's infrastructure and education system.
In the 19th century, the Janke surname can be found in various genealogical records and historical documents across Germany and neighboring regions. For example, Carl Janke (1813-1888) was a German composer and conductor who worked in the cities of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) and Leipzig.
Another prominent figure was Theodor Janke (1858-1944), a German politician and journalist who served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) from 1907 to 1918. He was also the editor of the newspaper Vossische Zeitung in Berlin.
In the early 20th century, Karl Janke (1888-1968) was a German architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the reconstruction of Berlin after World War II. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings and public spaces in the city.
While the surname Janke is predominantly found in Germany and neighboring countries, it has also been adopted by people of German descent in other parts of the world, particularly in North America and Australia, following waves of emigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Janke
Among Census respondents with the surname Janke, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Janke 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 Janke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 3,628
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 147
- Two or more races2.2% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 39
- Black or African American0.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Janke
Janke 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
#8,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,977
-85 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 780 places
2020
#8,081
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,926
-51 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Up 249 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,550 | 4,062 | 1.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,330 | 3,977 | 1.35 | -85 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 780 places |
| 2020 | #8,081 | 3,926 | 1.31 | -51 bearers (-1.3%) | Up 249 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 Janke 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 | #8,330 | #8,081 | 3.0% |
| Count | 3,977 | 3,926 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.35 | 1.31 | -2.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Janke bearers went from 3,977 to 3,926 (-1.3% change). The surname moved up 249 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,330 to #8,081.
FAQ
Janke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Janke?
Name Census estimates that about 4,502 living Americans carry the surname Janke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,134 residents.
How common is Janke?
Janke ranks #8,081 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.31 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 3,926 people with the surname Janke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,502), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.31 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 Janke.
Has Janke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Janke went from 3,977 recorded bearers to 3,926. That is a decrease of 51 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,330 to #8,081.
What does the Census say about the background of Janke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Janke, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Janke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (3,628 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Janke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Janke (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 Janke mean?
A variant of the surname "Jahnke," derived from the Slavic given name "Janek" or "Jan," meaning "God is gracious." 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 Janke (1.31 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 Janke?
See how many people have the last name Janke on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.