2000
#104,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 158
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Lieck
A North German surname derived from a place name meaning "bend" or "curve".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Lieck. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lieck 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Lieck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lieck, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lieck
The surname LIECK is of German origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Old German word "leck," which means "a leak" or "a drip." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who lived near a leaking spring or stream.
One of the earliest known bearers of the LIECK surname was Hans Lieck, a farmer from the village of Wörth, near Nuremberg, who was mentioned in church records from 1532. The name also appeared in various legal documents and tax registers from the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the late 17th century, the spelling variation "Liecke" was recorded in the town of Lübben, in the Brandenburg region of modern-day eastern Germany. This form of the name may have originated from the Low German word "lieke," meaning "a small stream."
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the LIECK surname continued to be found primarily in various parts of Germany, with particular concentrations in the states of Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. Notable individuals with this surname during this period include Johann Lieck (1705-1778), a celebrated clockmaker from Nuremberg, and Karl Friedrich Lieck (1812-1888), a German jurist and legal scholar from Saxony.
As Germans began to emigrate to other parts of the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the LIECK name spread to various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. One notable American bearer of this surname was Henry Lieck (1837-1923), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Another notable figure in history with the LIECK surname was Ernst Lieck (1878-1958), a German composer and music educator who was known for his contributions to the development of music education in Germany during the early 20th century.
While the LIECK surname is not among the most common in the world, it has a long and rich history, with its roots firmly planted in the German-speaking regions of Europe. Over the centuries, it has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, artisans, scholars, and businesspeople.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lieck
Among Census respondents with the surname Lieck, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Lieck 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 Lieck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.5% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino27.1% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 3
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lieck
Lieck 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
#123,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
-19 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 18,977 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-21 bearers (-15.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,715 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #104,819 | 158 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,796 | 139 | 0.05 | -19 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 18,977 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-15.1%) | Down 19,715 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 Lieck 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 | #123,796 | #143,511 | -15.9% |
| Count | 139 | 118 | -15.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lieck bearers went from 139 to 118 (-15.1% change). The surname moved down 19,715 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,796 to #143,511.
FAQ
Lieck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lieck?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Lieck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Lieck?
Lieck ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Lieck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Lieck.
Has Lieck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lieck went from 139 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 21 (-15.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,796 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Lieck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lieck, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (27.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%). 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 Lieck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.5% (82 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lieck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.5%), Hispanic (27.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%). 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 Lieck (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 Lieck mean?
A North German surname derived from a place name meaning "bend" or "curve". 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 Lieck (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 Lieck?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.