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

Linke, 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 Linke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Linke in America

Linke is the 15052nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Linke surname appeared 1,962 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Linke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Linke 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 Linke

The surname Linke originates from Germany and is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, possibly as early as the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "linke," meaning "left-handed" or "left," which was likely used as a descriptive nickname for someone who was left-handed.

The name Linke was particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg in eastern Germany. In the historical records of these areas, various spellings of the name can be found, such as Lincke, Lincken, and Linken.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Linke can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt, dated around 1300. This document references a certain "Henricus Lincke," suggesting the name's existence in that region during the late medieval period.

In the 15th century, a prominent figure bearing the name Linke was Johannes Linke, a German theologian and Reformer who lived from approximately 1490 to 1557. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation and was a close associate of Martin Luther.

Another notable individual with the surname Linke was Paul Linke, a German jurist and legal scholar who lived from 1673 to 1717. He served as a professor of law at the University of Leipzig and made significant contributions to the field of civil law.

During the 18th century, Johann Gottlieb Linke (1718-1793) was a respected German architect and urban planner. He was responsible for the design and construction of several notable buildings in the city of Dresden, including the Zwinger Palace.

In the 19th century, Karl Linke (1809-1885) was a German painter and illustrator known for his landscape and genre paintings. He studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and his works were widely exhibited during his lifetime.

Another individual of note with the surname Linke was Hans Linke (1876-1959), a German politician and trade union leader who played an influential role in the labor movement and the Social Democratic Party of Germany in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Linke

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

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

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

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