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

Niekamp, 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 Niekamp surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Niekamp in America

Niekamp is the 30202nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Niekamp surname appeared 776 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 Niekamp.

We can also compare 2010 data for Niekamp 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 Niekamp

The surname Niekamp originates from the German language and can be traced back to the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia in northwestern Germany. It likely emerged during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.

The name Niekamp is believed to be derived from the combination of two Old German words, "nie" meaning "new" and "kamp" meaning "field" or "enclosure." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who settled or cultivated a newly cleared area of land.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Niekamp surname can be found in the historical records of the city of Osnabrück, where a person named Henricus Niekamp was mentioned in a document dated 1387.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Niekamp name was Johann Niekamp, a Lutheran theologian and reformer born in Westphalia around 1520. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation movement in northern Germany.

During the 17th century, the name appeared in various church records and tax registers across Lower Saxony and Westphalia, indicating the gradual spread and establishment of the Niekamp family in those regions.

One of the earliest known places associated with the Niekamp surname is the village of Niekamp, located near the town of Melle in Lower Saxony. This place name likely served as the origin for some branches of the Niekamp family.

In the 18th century, a notable individual named Johann Heinrich Niekamp (1699-1773) was a prominent jurist and legal scholar from Osnabrück. He authored several influential works on civil law and legal theory.

Another individual of note is Karl Niekamp (1801-1873), a German entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Niekamp & Co. textile manufacturing company in Bocholt, Westphalia. The company played a significant role in the region's textile industry during the 19th century.

During the 19th century, the Niekamp surname also appeared in various historical records and documents across other parts of Germany, suggesting that members of the family had migrated and settled in different regions over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Niekamp

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

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

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

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