2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Nauck
German surname derived from a short form of the given name Ignatius.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Nauck. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nauck 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Nauck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nauck, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nauck
The surname Nauck is of German origin, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the Prussian region of East Germany, possibly derived from the Old Prussian word "nauka," meaning "river bend" or "meandering stream."
One of the earliest known bearers of the Nauck surname was Johann Nauck, a Lutheran minister born in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) in 1629. His son, Christian Nauck (1659-1719), was a renowned theologian and author, publishing several works on religious philosophy.
The Nauck name appears in several historical records from the 17th and 18th centuries, including church registers and tax rolls from various towns and villages in East Prussia. One notable mention is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Margraviate of Brandenburg, where a certain Caspar Nauck is listed as a landowner in the village of Löcknitz in the year 1684.
During the 19th century, the Nauck surname began to spread beyond its East Prussian roots. August Ferdinand Nauck (1788-1857), a renowned classical philologist and scholar of ancient Greek literature, was born in Auerbach, Saxony. His critical editions of various Greek texts, including the works of Euripides and Sophocles, remain influential to this day.
Another noteworthy individual bearing the Nauck surname was Wilhelm Nauck (1822-1892), a German architect and urban planner who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin, including the Reichsbank and the Reichstag building. His architectural style was heavily influenced by the Italian Renaissance and helped shape the cityscape of Berlin during the latter half of the 19th century.
In the field of medicine, Karl Ferdinand Nauck (1819-1891) was a German physician and pathologist who made significant contributions to the study of diabetes and metabolic disorders. His research on the role of the pancreas in diabetes paved the way for later discoveries in the field of endocrinology.
Although the Nauck surname has its roots in East Prussia and Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration and migration. Prominent individuals with this surname can be found in various fields, from academia and the arts to business and politics, carrying on the legacy of their name across different cultures and continents.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nauck
Among Census respondents with the surname Nauck, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Nauck 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 Nauck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nauck
Nauck 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
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
+8 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,604 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-26 bearers (-20.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 21,819 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+6.8%) | Down 1,604 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -26 bearers (-20.6%) | Down 21,819 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 Nauck 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 | #133,863 | #155,682 | -16.3% |
| Count | 126 | 100 | -20.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nauck bearers went from 126 to 100 (-20.6% change). The surname moved down 21,819 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #155,682.
FAQ
Nauck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nauck?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Nauck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Nauck?
Nauck ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Nauck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Nauck.
Has Nauck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nauck went from 126 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 26 (-20.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Nauck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nauck, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Nauck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nauck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Hispanic (6.0%). 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 Nauck (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 Nauck mean?
German surname derived from a short form of the given name Ignatius. 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 Nauck (0.03 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 surname Nauck?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.