2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kortendick
A Dutch surname derived from "kort" (short) and "dijk" (dike or dam), potentially referring to someone living near a short dike or dam.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Kortendick. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kortendick 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Kortendick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kortendick, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kortendick
The surname Kortendick has its origins in the Low German language of northern Germany and the Netherlands. It is believed to have originated in the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. The name is likely derived from the Dutch words "kort" meaning short and "dijk" meaning dike or embankment, suggesting it may have originally referred to someone living near a short dike or embankment.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in church records and municipal archives from the region of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Kortendick, a farmer from the village of Emden, who was born around 1550.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of the Dutch East India Company, with a merchant named Pieter Kortendick mentioned as having traded in the port of Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) in 1642. This suggests that some bearers of the name may have been involved in the Dutch colonial trade networks of that era.
Another notable figure in the history of the Kortendick surname was Johann Kortendick, a Lutheran pastor who lived in the city of Lübeck in northern Germany in the late 17th century. He is known to have authored several religious texts and sermons that were published in the 1680s.
In the 19th century, the name can be found in various records from the provinces of Friesland and Groningen in the Netherlands, where it was likely borne by farmers and tradesmen. One notable individual from this period was Willem Kortendick, a Dutch painter born in Groningen in 1822, who was known for his landscape and genre paintings.
Another significant bearer of the Kortendick name was Karl Kortendick, a German industrialist born in Hanover in 1856. He founded the Kortendick Machine Works, a successful engineering company that produced machinery for the textile industry, and played a role in the industrial development of the region.
While the surname Kortendick is relatively uncommon, it has a long and interesting history, with bearers of the name leaving their mark in various fields over the centuries, particularly in the regions of northern Germany and the Netherlands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kortendick
Among Census respondents with the surname Kortendick, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kortendick 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 Kortendick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kortendick
Kortendick 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
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+11 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 382 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-17 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,770 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | +11 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 382 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 16,770 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 Kortendick 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 | #126,018 | #142,788 | -13.3% |
| Count | 136 | 119 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kortendick bearers went from 136 to 119 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 16,770 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #142,788.
FAQ
Kortendick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kortendick?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Kortendick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Kortendick?
Kortendick ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Kortendick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Kortendick.
Has Kortendick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kortendick went from 136 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 17 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Kortendick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kortendick, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Kortendick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kortendick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Kortendick (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 Kortendick mean?
A Dutch surname derived from "kort" (short) and "dijk" (dike or dam), potentially referring to someone living near a short dike or dam. 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 Kortendick (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 many people have the surname Kortendick?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.