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

Munk, 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 Munk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Munk in America

Munk is the 15201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Munk surname appeared 1,938 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Munk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Munk 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 Munk

The surname Munk has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon culture and language of medieval England. It is derived from the Old English word "munuc", which means "monk" or "religious recluse". The name likely referred to someone who lived like a monk or was associated with a monastery.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders across England compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are several entries for individuals with the surname Munk or similar spellings like Munc or Munck. One notable entry is for a landowner named Godric Munc in Wiltshire.

By the 13th century, the name had spread across various regions of England, appearing in records from counties like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. The earliest recorded instance of the surname dates back to 1273 in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, which mentions a William le Munk.

Over time, the name evolved into different spellings such as Munke, Monk, and Monck. One of the earliest examples of the Monck spelling can be found in the records of the Monastic Borough of Battel in Sussex, where a Robert Monck was listed as a landowner in 1327.

Several notable individuals bearing the surname Munk or its variants have left their mark throughout history. These include Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle (1652-1688), a prominent English soldier and statesman; George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608-1670), an influential military leader during the English Civil War; and William le Moyne de Munk (1292-1359), a renowned English knight and landowner.

Other historical figures include Hans Munk (1598-1628), a Danish explorer and navigator who led an ill-fated expedition to the Northwest Passage, and Salomon Munk (1805-1867), a Polish-German Orientalist and scholar renowned for his work on Hebrew literature and philosophy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Munk

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

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 Munk 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 Munk 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 Munk was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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