2000
#10,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,704
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Linker
An occupational surname referring to a rope or chain maker, or a person who joins or connects things.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,742 Americans carry the last name Linker. That puts it at #12,402 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,002 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Linker 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Linker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 125,002
Census rank
#12,402
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,391 bearers of the surname Linker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12402nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Linker, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Linker
The surname LINKER is believed to have originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Link," which means "left" or "left-handed." The name was likely given to someone who was left-handed or who lived on the left side of a village or town.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LINKER can be found in the town of Augsburg, Germany, in the year 1562. A document from that year mentions a man named Hans LINKER, who was a blacksmith by trade. The name is also found in other German towns and cities during that time period, such as Cologne and Nuremberg.
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the name LINKER began to spread beyond Germany to other parts of Europe. In 1603, a man named Peter LINKER was listed in a census record from the city of Prague, in what is now the Czech Republic. A few decades later, in 1629, a woman named Maria LINKER was recorded in a church register in the town of Bern, Switzerland.
One of the earliest known references to the name LINKER in England can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in the village of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. In 1642, a man named Johann LINKER was baptized there. It is possible that he or his ancestors were German immigrants who brought the name to England.
Throughout the centuries, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname LINKER. One example is the German poet and playwright Friedrich Wilhelm LINKER (1796-1865), who wrote several popular plays and poems during the Romantic era. Another is the Austrian painter and printmaker Max LINKER (1865-1942), who was known for his landscapes and still-life paintings.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name LINKER is that of Johann LINKER, who was born in Germany in 1734 and immigrated to Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century. He later served as a private in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Other notable individuals with the surname LINKER include the German engineer and inventor Karl LINKER (1856-1926), who designed and built several early internal combustion engines, and the American judge and politician John LINKER (1888-1968), who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio in the 1940s and 1950s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Linker
Among Census respondents with the surname Linker, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Linker 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 Linker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 2,149
- Two or more races4.4% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 28
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Linker
Linker 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
#10,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,927
+223 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 68 places
2020
#12,402
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,391
-536 bearers (-18.3%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 1,513 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,821 | 2,704 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,889 | 2,927 | 0.99 | +223 bearers (+8.2%) | Down 68 places |
| 2020 | #12,402 | 2,391 | 0.80 | -536 bearers (-18.3%) | Down 1,513 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 Linker 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 | #10,889 | #12,402 | -13.9% |
| Count | 2,927 | 2,391 | -18.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.80 | -19.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Linker bearers went from 2,927 to 2,391 (-18.3% change). The surname moved down 1,513 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,889 to #12,402.
FAQ
Linker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Linker?
Name Census estimates that about 2,742 living Americans carry the surname Linker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,002 residents.
How common is Linker?
Linker ranks #12,402 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,391 people with the surname Linker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,742), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Linker.
Has Linker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Linker went from 2,927 recorded bearers to 2,391. That is a decrease of 536 (-18.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,889 to #12,402.
What does the Census say about the background of Linker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Linker, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Linker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (2,149 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Linker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Linker (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 Linker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a rope or chain maker, or a person who joins or connects things. 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 Linker (0.80 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 last name Linker?
If you just want to know how many people are called Linker, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.