2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Joecks
A German surname derived from a diminutive form of the personal name Joachim.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Joecks. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Joecks 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Joecks in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Joecks, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Joecks
The surname Joecks has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have been derived from the German word "Jockel," which was a diminutive form of the name Jakob or Jacob. This name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Joecks can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Wilhelm Joecks is mentioned as a merchant and landowner. Another early record dates back to the 15th century, where a Johannes Joecks is listed as a member of the local guild of blacksmiths in the city of Dresden.
In the 16th century, the name Joecks appeared in several historical documents, including a census record from the town of Bamberg, where a family by the name of Joecks is listed as residing in the central district. During this period, the name was also documented in various church records, such as baptismal and marriage registers.
One notable figure bearing the surname Joecks was Hans Joecks, a prominent artist and woodcarver who lived in the city of Augsburg in the late 16th century. His intricate woodcarvings adorned several churches and public buildings in the region, and he is considered one of the most skilled craftsmen of his time.
In the 17th century, the name Joecks was associated with the town of Jena, where a family of Joecks owned a successful brewery. Johannes Joecks, born in 1621, was the head of this family and is recorded as having played a significant role in the local community.
Another notable individual with the surname Joecks was Wilhelm Joecks, a scholar and philosopher who lived in the 18th century. Born in 1732 in the town of Heidelberg, he authored several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy, which were widely read and discussed in academic circles of the time.
As the centuries passed, the name Joecks continued to be found in various regions of Germany, with some families relocating to other parts of Europe and beyond. However, its roots can be traced back to the heartlands of Bavaria and Saxony, where it first emerged as a distinct surname during the Middle Ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joecks
Among Census respondents with the surname Joecks, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Joecks 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 Joecks surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.4% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Joecks
Joecks 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-15 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 24,975 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+9 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,280 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 24,975 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.7%) | Up 9,280 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 Joecks 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 | #157,234 | #147,954 | 5.9% |
| Count | 103 | 112 | 8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 24.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Joecks bearers went from 103 to 112 (+8.7% change). The surname moved up 9,280 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #147,954.
FAQ
Joecks surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Joecks?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Joecks. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Joecks?
Joecks ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Joecks. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Joecks.
Has Joecks become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Joecks went from 103 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 9 (+8.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Joecks?
Among Census respondents with the surname Joecks, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Joecks in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Joecks appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%), Black (0.9%). 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 Joecks (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 Joecks mean?
A German surname derived from a diminutive form of the personal name Joachim. 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 Joecks (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 common is the surname Joecks?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Joecks, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.