2000
#5,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,422
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.01
Rare Last name
Mielke
A Polish or German occupational surname derived from the word for "miller" or "grinder."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,085 Americans carry the last name Mielke. That puts it at #6,189 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,328 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mielke 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
6.1K
1 in 56,328
Census rank
#6,189
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,306 bearers of the surname Mielke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6189th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mielke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mielke
The surname Mielke originated in Germany, with records dating back to the late Middle Ages. It is a toponymic surname, derived from the placename Mielkau or Milka, which were small villages in the region of Silesia (now part of modern-day Poland). The name likely stems from the Slavic word "miłk" or "miełk," meaning "soft" or "gentle," suggesting it may have been initially used to describe someone from an area with a mild climate or fertile soil.
One of the earliest documented references to the Mielke name comes from a 1383 record in the town of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), which mentions a "Hanco Mielke." In the 15th century, the name appears in various spellings such as Milke, Mielcke, and Milcke in records from towns across Silesia and Brandenburg.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Mielke name began to spread beyond its original region as members of the family migrated to other parts of Germany and neighboring countries. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Mielke (1551-1625), a Lutheran theologian and rector of the University of Rostock, and Christoph Mielke (1625-1688), a German jurist and author.
In the 18th century, the Mielke surname gained prominence with figures like Johann Mielke (1712-1794), a German painter and engraver renowned for his landscape paintings and etchings. Another notable bearer of the name was Christian Friedrich Mielke (1784-1854), a Prussian jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Justice and Interior in the early 19th century.
As the 19th century progressed, the Mielke name continued to be found across various German states and kingdoms. One notable individual from this period was Gustav Mielke (1819-1899), a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin, including the Kronprinzenpalais and the Charlottenburg Palace.
In the 20th century, the Mielke surname gained notoriety with Erich Mielke (1907-2000), who served as the head of the Stasi, the notorious secret police of East Germany, from 1957 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mielke
Among Census respondents with the surname Mielke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mielke 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 Mielke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 4,942
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 145
- Two or more races2.5% · 132
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 51
- Black or African American0.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mielke
Mielke 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
#6,235
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,482
+60 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Down 387 places
2020
#6,189
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,306
-176 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.78
Rank movement Up 46 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,848 | 5,422 | 2.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,235 | 5,482 | 1.86 | +60 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 387 places |
| 2020 | #6,189 | 5,306 | 1.78 | -176 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 46 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 Mielke 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 | #6,235 | #6,189 | 0.7% |
| Count | 5,482 | 5,306 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.86 | 1.78 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mielke bearers went from 5,482 to 5,306 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 46 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,235 to #6,189.
FAQ
Mielke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mielke?
Name Census estimates that about 6,085 living Americans carry the surname Mielke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,328 residents.
How common is Mielke?
Mielke ranks #6,189 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,306 people with the surname Mielke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,085), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Mielke.
Has Mielke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mielke went from 5,482 recorded bearers to 5,306. That is a decrease of 176 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,235 to #6,189.
What does the Census say about the background of Mielke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mielke, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Mielke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (4,942 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mielke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Mielke (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 Mielke mean?
A Polish or German occupational surname derived from the word for "miller" or "grinder." 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 Mielke (1.78 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 are called Mielke?
See how many people have the surname Mielke on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.