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

Laken, 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 Laken surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laken in America

Laken is the 108734th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laken surname appeared 163 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 Laken.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laken 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 Laken

The surname LAKEN is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "lachen," meaning "to laugh" or "to be cheerful." The name may have been given to someone with a cheerful or jovial demeanor.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the LAKEN surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the margraviate of Brandenburg, dated around 1350. The name is listed as "Lachen" in this document.

The LAKEN surname is also believed to be related to the German place name "Laken," a village in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is possible that the surname originated from this location and was adopted by individuals who lived there or nearby.

In the 16th century, there are records of a German nobleman named Hans von Laken (born around 1520), who was a member of the court of the Elector of Brandenburg. He is mentioned in several historical documents of the time.

Another notable figure with the LAKEN surname was Johann Laken (1543-1612), a German Lutheran theologian and author who wrote extensively on religious topics. He served as a pastor in several churches in Germany and published numerous works on theology and biblical interpretation.

In the 18th century, there was a Dutch artist named Pieter Laken (1718-1795) who was known for his landscape paintings. He was born in Amsterdam and spent most of his career in the Netherlands, where his works were highly regarded.

A more recent example is Friedrich Laken (1876-1947), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities in the early 20th century. He was known for his work in the Jugendstil and Bauhaus architectural styles.

Another figure with the LAKEN surname was the Austrian mathematician and logician Kurt Laken (1886-1967), who made significant contributions to the field of symbolic logic and is considered a pioneer in the development of modern mathematical logic.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laken

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

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 Laken 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 Laken 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 Laken was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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