2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Ludecke
A German occupational surname derived from the Old German "hlutu", referring to someone who harvested or made glue.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Ludecke. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ludecke 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Ludecke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ludecke, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ludecke
The surname Ludecke is of German origin, derived from the medieval Low German word "lude", meaning "people" or "folk". It is believed to have originated as a nickname or as a habitational name for someone living near a settlement or village.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of northern Germany, such as Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg. In 1387, a certain Hinrik Ludecke was mentioned in the records of the city of Lübeck.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the name Ludecke appeared in various historical documents and records across northern Germany. For instance, in 1492, a Hans Ludecke was documented as a landowner in the village of Kritzow, near Rostock.
One notable bearer of the name was Johann Ludecke, a German Protestant reformer and theologian who lived from 1537 to 1612. He played a significant role in the Reformation movement in the region of Pomerania.
In the 17th century, the name Ludecke was also found in the records of several German cities, including Hamburg and Bremen. For example, in 1632, a merchant named Joachim Ludecke was mentioned in the trade records of Hamburg.
Another historically significant figure with this surname was Karl Ludecke, a German architect and urban planner who lived from 1826 to 1894. He was known for his work on the reconstruction of Berlin after the city's expansion in the late 19th century.
As the name spread across Germany and beyond, various spelling variations emerged, such as Lüdecke, Lüdeke, and Ludeke. In some cases, the name was also associated with specific place names, such as Lüdekenbeck or Lüdekenhagen.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ludecke
Among Census respondents with the surname Ludecke, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Ludecke 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 Ludecke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 108
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ludecke
Ludecke 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-13 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,898 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-6 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,267 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #120,330 | 133 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 18,898 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 7,267 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 Ludecke 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 | #139,228 | #146,495 | -5.2% |
| Count | 120 | 114 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ludecke bearers went from 120 to 114 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 7,267 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #146,495.
FAQ
Ludecke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ludecke?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Ludecke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Ludecke?
Ludecke ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Ludecke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Ludecke.
Has Ludecke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ludecke went from 120 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Ludecke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ludecke, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Ludecke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ludecke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Two or More Races (2.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Ludecke (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 Ludecke mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Old German "hlutu", referring to someone who harvested or made glue. 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 Ludecke (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 last name Ludecke?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Ludecke at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.