2000
#3,887
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,394
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.11
Rare Last name
Meeker
An occupational surname referring to a trader or merchant, derived from the Middle English word "meke," meaning "to trade."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,026 Americans carry the last name Meeker. That puts it at #4,355 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,974 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Meeker 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
9.0K
1 in 37,974
Census rank
#4,355
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,871 bearers of the surname Meeker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4355th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Meeker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meeker
Among Census respondents with the surname Meeker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Meeker 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 Meeker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 7,201
- Two or more races4.0% · 317
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 239
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 41
- Black or African American0.2% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Meeker
Meeker 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
#4,046
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,781
+387 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 2.98
Rank movement Down 159 places
2020
#4,355
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,871
-910 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 2.63
Rank movement Down 309 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,887 | 8,394 | 3.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,046 | 8,781 | 2.98 | +387 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 159 places |
| 2020 | #4,355 | 7,871 | 2.63 | -910 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 309 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 Meeker 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 | #4,046 | #4,355 | -7.6% |
| Count | 8,781 | 7,871 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.98 | 2.63 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Meeker bearers went from 8,781 to 7,871 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 309 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,046 to #4,355.
FAQ
Meeker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Meeker?
Name Census estimates that about 9,026 living Americans carry the surname Meeker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,974 residents.
How common is Meeker?
Meeker ranks #4,355 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,871 people with the surname Meeker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,026), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Meeker.
Has Meeker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Meeker went from 8,781 recorded bearers to 7,871. That is a decrease of 910 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,046 to #4,355.
What does the Census say about the background of Meeker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Meeker, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Meeker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (7,201 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Meeker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Meeker (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 Meeker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a trader or merchant, derived from the Middle English word "meke," meaning "to trade." 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 Meeker (2.63 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 people have the last name Meeker?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Meeker at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.