2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Menko
A name derived from a Slavic word meaning "small" or "little".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Menko. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Menko 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Menko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Menko, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Menko
The surname Menko originates from the Netherlands and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have evolved from the Dutch personal name "Menno," which was a variant of the Germanic name "Menne" or "Menne." This name is derived from the root "man," meaning "man" or "human being."
Menko was a common surname in the provinces of Friesland and Groningen in the northern Netherlands. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Dutch church records and civil registrations from the 1500s and 1600s. For example, the baptismal record of Pieter Menko from the city of Leeuwarden in 1587 is one of the earliest known mentions of the surname.
In the 17th century, the name Menko appeared in various historical documents and records, such as land deeds, court proceedings, and municipal archives. One notable figure was Jonge Menko, a prominent merchant and ship owner from the city of Harlingen, who lived from 1620 to 1685.
During the Dutch Golden Age, the Menko family played a significant role in the maritime trade and exploration of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). Adriaan Menko, born in 1645 in Amsterdam, was a renowned navigator and cartographer who produced detailed maps of the Indonesian archipelago.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Sjoerd Menko, a respected scholar and theologian from Friesland who lived from 1685 to 1754. His contributions to the study of Reformed theology and Biblical exegesis were widely recognized in his time.
In the 19th century, the Menko name gained prominence in the field of art and literature. Jacob Menko, born in 1809 in Groningen, was a celebrated landscape painter whose works depicted the rural scenery and everyday life of the northern Netherlands.
Furthermore, the name Menko has been associated with various place names and geographical locations throughout the Netherlands. For instance, the village of Menkogehuizen in the province of Friesland is believed to have derived its name from the Menko family that once lived in the area.
While the surname Menko is primarily concentrated in the Netherlands, it has also been found in other parts of Europe and even in North America, likely due to Dutch emigration and settlement in these regions over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Menko
Among Census respondents with the surname Menko, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Menko 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 Menko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.6% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Menko
Menko 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+16 bearers (+14.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,044 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-7 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,799 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+14.7%) | Up 6,044 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 8,799 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 Menko 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 | #134,712 | #143,511 | -6.5% |
| Count | 125 | 118 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Menko bearers went from 125 to 118 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 8,799 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #143,511.
FAQ
Menko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Menko?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Menko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Menko?
Menko ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Menko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Menko.
Has Menko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Menko went from 125 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Menko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Menko, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Menko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Menko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.6%), Hispanic (1.7%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Menko (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 Menko mean?
A name derived from a Slavic word meaning "small" or "little". 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 Menko (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 share the surname Menko?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.