2000
#8,727
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,467
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.29
Rare Last name
Lueck
A German habitational surname derived from places named Lück, Luick, or Lücke, likely referring to a gap or clearing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,847 Americans carry the last name Lueck. That puts it at #9,307 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 89,097 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lueck 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
3.8K
1 in 89,097
Census rank
#9,307
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,355 bearers of the surname Lueck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9307th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lueck, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lueck
The surname Lueck has its origins in Germany, with records indicating its presence dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Low German word "luck," which means a protruding piece of land or a small hill. The name was likely first used as a descriptive term for someone who resided on or near such a geographical feature.
In the medieval period, the Lueck family was prominent in the regions of Saxony and Brandenburg, where they held lands and positions of influence. One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Liber Census Daniae, a Danish census record from 1245, which mentions a knight named Henricus Lueck.
The name Lueck also appears in the Stadtbuch von Quedlinburg, a municipal record book from the town of Quedlinburg in modern-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. This document, dating back to the 14th century, contains entries related to various Lueck family members who held positions of authority in the town.
Notable individuals with the surname Lueck include Johann Lueck (1492-1562), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Reformation movement in Saxony. Another prominent figure was Gottfried Lueck (1713-1788), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin.
In the 19th century, Heinrich Lueck (1819-1892) was a renowned German landscape painter and etcher, known for his depictions of the scenic regions of the Harz Mountains and the Elbe River valley. Additionally, Karl Lueck (1854-1932) was a German businessman and industrialist who co-founded the Lueck & Ortmann machine tool company, which played a significant role in the industrial development of Germany.
The name Lueck has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Luckau, a town in Brandenburg, and Luckenwalde, a town in the same region. These place names likely share the same etymological roots as the surname, reflecting the geographical features associated with the term "luck."
While the surname Lueck has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, the earliest recorded instances and historical references to the name can be traced back to the German regions of Saxony and Brandenburg, where the Lueck family has left an indelible mark on the local history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lueck
Among Census respondents with the surname Lueck, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Lueck 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 Lueck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 3,165
- Two or more races2.4% · 81
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 25
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lueck
Lueck 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
#9,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,579
+112 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 396 places
2020
#9,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,355
-224 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,727 | 3,467 | 1.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,123 | 3,579 | 1.21 | +112 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 396 places |
| 2020 | #9,307 | 3,355 | 1.12 | -224 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 184 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 Lueck 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 | #9,123 | #9,307 | -2.0% |
| Count | 3,579 | 3,355 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.21 | 1.12 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lueck bearers went from 3,579 to 3,355 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,123 to #9,307.
FAQ
Lueck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lueck?
Name Census estimates that about 3,847 living Americans carry the surname Lueck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 89,097 residents.
How common is Lueck?
Lueck ranks #9,307 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.12 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 3,355 people with the surname Lueck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,847), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.12 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 Lueck.
Has Lueck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lueck went from 3,579 recorded bearers to 3,355. That is a decrease of 224 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,123 to #9,307.
What does the Census say about the background of Lueck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lueck, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Lueck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (3,165 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lueck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Lueck (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 Lueck mean?
A German habitational surname derived from places named Lück, Luick, or Lücke, likely referring to a gap or clearing. 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 Lueck (1.12 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 Lueck?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.