Find out how popular the last name Meeker is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Meeker.

Meeker, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Meeker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Meeker in America

Meeker is the 4046th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Meeker surname appeared 8,781 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Meeker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Meeker to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Meeker

The surname Meeker is of Germanic origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages in the region that is now modern-day Germany. It is believed to be derived from the Middle High German word "meichiere," which means "one who oversees the dairy" or "keeper of the milk."

In the early days, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as "Meicher," "Meychier," and "Meycher," reflecting the regional dialects and variations in pronunciation. As families migrated across Europe, the spelling evolved further, eventually settling on the more standardized form of "Meeker."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name appears in this historical record as "Meichiere," referring to an individual who held a position overseeing dairy operations in a local village.

During the 16th century, the name Meeker began to spread across Europe, with notable individuals bearing the surname appearing in various records. One such figure was Hans Meeker, a farmer and landowner in the German region of Silesia, who was born in 1534 and died in 1604.

As the centuries progressed, the Meeker family name found its way to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. In the late 17th century, a Dutch immigrant named Joost Meeker settled in the colony of New Netherland (present-day New York), becoming one of the earliest bearers of the name in the Americas.

Another notable individual with the Meeker surname was Nathaniel Meeker, an American pioneer and writer who was born in 1817. He is best known for his efforts in establishing the Union Colony in Colorado, which later became the city of Greeley. Tragically, he was killed in 1879 during the Meeker Massacre, a conflict between settlers and Native Americans.

In the 19th century, the name Meeker gained further prominence with the achievements of Ralph Meeker, an American actor born in 1920. He had a successful career in theater, film, and television, appearing in notable productions such as "Kiss Me Deadly" and "The Defenders."

Throughout history, the Meeker surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, landowners, pioneers, writers, and artists. While the name may have evolved in its spelling over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the dairy-keeping traditions of medieval Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Meeker

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Meeker.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Meeker was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Meeker has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Meeker was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Meeker, please contact us.

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