2000
#2,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,549
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.39
Uncommon Last name
Meek
A descriptive surname referring to someone who is humble, gentle, or submissive in character.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,874 Americans carry the last name Meek. That puts it at #2,543 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,592 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meek 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 Meek with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,592
Census rank
#2,543
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,843 bearers of the surname Meek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2543rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meek, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Meek
The surname Meek has its origins in England, first appearing in written records around the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English word "meoc" or "meek," meaning "mild" or "gentle." It likely started as a nickname for someone with a meek or humble demeanor.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, several people with the name Meek or similar spellings like Meke or Mek are listed. This suggests the surname was already well-established by the late 11th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Meek surname is William le Meke, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1196. The use of the Norman French prefix "le" indicates the name had become hereditary by this time.
The Meek surname has also been connected to several place names in England, such as Meek in Staffordshire and Meakes in Bedfordshire. These locations may have influenced the development of the surname in their respective areas.
Notable individuals with the Meek surname throughout history include John Meek (c.1591-1635), an English merchant and Member of Parliament for Sandwich, and Joseph Meek (1810-1868), an American frontier explorer and mountain man known for his travels in the Pacific Northwest.
Other famous Meeks include John Meek (1856-1912), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire, and Mary Meek Ayer (1860-1919), an American educator and philanthropist who founded the Ayer Home for Children and Aged Women in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Alexander Meek (1816-1865), born in Ireland, served as a Union general during the American Civil War and was killed in action at the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meek
Among Census respondents with the surname Meek, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Meek 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 Meek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 12,045
- Two or more races4.5% · 624
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 597
- Black or African American2.5% · 345
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 116
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 116
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meek
Meek 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
#2,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,970
+421 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 5.07
Rank movement Down 130 places
2020
#2,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,843
-1,127 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 4.63
Rank movement Down 124 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,289 | 14,549 | 5.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,419 | 14,970 | 5.07 | +421 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 130 places |
| 2020 | #2,543 | 13,843 | 4.63 | -1,127 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 124 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 Meek 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 | #2,419 | #2,543 | -5.1% |
| Count | 14,970 | 13,843 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.07 | 4.63 | -8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meek bearers went from 14,970 to 13,843 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 124 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,419 to #2,543.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Meek
FAQ
Meek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meek?
Name Census estimates that about 15,874 living Americans carry the surname Meek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,592 residents.
How common is Meek?
Meek ranks #2,543 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,843 people with the surname Meek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,874), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Meek.
Has Meek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meek went from 14,970 recorded bearers to 13,843. That is a decrease of 1,127 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,419 to #2,543.
What does the Census say about the background of Meek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meek, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Meek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (12,045 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Meek (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 Meek mean?
A descriptive surname referring to someone who is humble, gentle, or submissive in character. 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 Meek (4.63 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 Americans have the surname Meek?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.