Find out how popular the last name Nelkin is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Nelkin.
A surname possibly derived from a Russian or Ukrainian nickname meaning "little man."
Nelkin, 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 Nelkin surname is from the 2010 census data.
Nelkin is the 80131st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Nelkin surname appeared 237 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Nelkin.
We can also compare 2010 data for Nelkin 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 80131 | 81100 | -1.20% |
| Count | 237 | 217 | 8.81% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.00% |
The surname Nelkin has its roots in Russia, originating in the late 18th century. It is believed to be derived from the Russian word "nelka," which referred to a type of small fish or minnow. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone who caught or sold these fish.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Nelkin surname dates back to 1795, when a merchant named Fyodor Nelkin was mentioned in a trade registry in the city of Novgorod. Another early reference is found in an 1811 census record from the village of Nizhny Novgorod, which lists a family headed by Ivan Nelkin, a farmer.
In the 19th century, the Nelkin name began to spread beyond its origins in central Russia. Records show a Grigory Nelkin, born in 1821, who was a prominent businessman in Moscow. Additionally, a Semyon Nelkin, born in 1839, was a respected scholar and author who published several works on Russian history and literature.
As the Nelkin family dispersed throughout Russia and beyond, the name underwent some variations in spelling, such as Nelkins, Nelkine, and Nelkina. In the late 19th century, a branch of the family immigrated to the United States, where the name was sometimes anglicized to Nelken or Nelkin.
One notable figure with the Nelkin surname was Dorothea Nelkin, an American sociologist born in 1928. She was a pioneering researcher in the field of science and technology studies and authored several influential books on the subject. Another important individual was Lev Nelkin, a Russian-born physicist (1895-1963) who made significant contributions to the study of nuclear physics and quantum mechanics.
Other historical figures bearing the Nelkin surname include Yevgeny Nelkin (1859-1927), a Russian military officer and author, and Anna Nelkin (1875-1952), a Ukrainian-born singer and actress who performed in opera houses across Europe in the early 20th century.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Nelkin.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Nelkin was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 97.89% | 232 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | (S)% | (S) |
| Hispanic Origin | (S)% | (S) |
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 Nelkin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 97.89% | 94.01% | 4.04% |
| Black | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Two or More Races | (S)% | 3.69% | (S)% |
| Hispanic | (S)% | 2.30% | (S)% |
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 Nelkin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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