2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Linkes
An English surname derived from the Old Norse word "linking" meaning a loop or bend.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Linkes. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Linkes 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Linkes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Linkes, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.1%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Linkes
The surname LINKES is of German origin, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "linc," meaning "left" or "left-handed." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with someone who was left-handed or lived on the left side of a particular location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name LINKES can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Weimar in Thuringia, Germany, from the year 1576. These records mention a certain Johannes Linkes, who was likely a resident of the town at that time.
In the 17th century, the name LINKES appeared in the Bürgerbücher (citizen registers) of the city of Nuremberg, which were maintained to record the names of citizens who held certain rights and privileges within the city. One such entry from 1643 lists a Hans Linkes as a burgher (citizen) of Nuremberg.
During the 18th century, the name LINKES was also found in various regions of what is now modern-day Germany. For instance, in 1721, a Johann Linkes was born in the town of Laasphe, located in the present-day state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Another notable figure from this period was Friedrich Linkes, a philosopher and theologian born in 1764 in the town of Zittau, in what is now the state of Saxony.
In the 19th century, the LINKES surname continued to be prevalent in various parts of Germany. One notable individual was Karl Linkes, a German painter and lithographer who was born in 1809 in the city of Dresden and died in 1878. Another person of note was Friedrich Wilhelm Linkes, a German politician and lawyer who lived from 1835 to 1904.
As the name LINKES spread across different regions, it also underwent various spelling variations, such as Linke, Linck, and Linck. Some of these variations may have been influenced by local dialects or scribal errors in historical records. However, the core root of the name remained rooted in the Old High German word "linc," reflecting its ties to the concept of being left-handed or associated with the left side.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Linkes
Among Census respondents with the surname Linkes, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.1%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Linkes 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 Linkes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 96
- Two or more races10.1% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Linkes
Linkes 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+4 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,548 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 810 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 5,548 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 810 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 Linkes 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 | #149,395 | #150,205 | -0.5% |
| Count | 110 | 109 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Linkes bearers went from 110 to 109 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 810 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #150,205.
FAQ
Linkes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Linkes?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Linkes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Linkes?
Linkes ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Linkes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Linkes.
Has Linkes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Linkes went from 110 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Linkes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Linkes, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.1%) and Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Linkes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Linkes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Two or More Races (10.1%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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 Linkes (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 Linkes mean?
An English surname derived from the Old Norse word "linking" meaning a loop or bend. 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 Linkes (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 Linkes?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.