Find out how popular the last name Kottke is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kottke.

Kottke, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kottke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kottke in America

Kottke is the 19306th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kottke surname appeared 1,402 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kottke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kottke to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kottke

The surname Kottke is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It originated in the regions of northern Germany and is derived from the German word "Kotte," which means a small farmhouse or cottage. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived in or owned a small rural dwelling.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kottke can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 14th century. The name is also mentioned in the records of the Hanseatic League, a powerful medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and their market towns.

During the Middle Ages, the Kottke family may have been associated with the German landed gentry or the lower nobility. In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Hans Kottke, a Lutheran theologian and reformer who was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

As the Kottke family spread across Germany, variations in spelling emerged, including Kotke, Kottke, and Kothke. Some of these variations were influenced by regional dialects and local place names. For instance, the town of Köthen in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, may have contributed to the spelling variation Kötke.

In the 18th century, Johann Theodor Kottke, a German composer and organist, gained recognition for his contributions to church music. Born in 1730, he served as the organist at the Marienkirche in Rostock, Germany, and composed numerous works for organ and choir.

Another notable figure with the surname Kottke was Bernhard Kottke, a German-American farmer and politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in the late 19th century. Born in 1843 in Prussia, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Wisconsin, where he became involved in local politics.

In more recent times, the American guitarist and singer-songwriter Leo Kottke, born in 1945, has achieved widespread recognition for his influential fingerstyle guitar compositions and performances. His distinctive style and virtuosic playing have earned him a dedicated following and critical acclaim.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kottke

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kottke.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kottke was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kottke has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kottke was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kottke, please contact us.

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