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

Puck, 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 Puck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Puck in America

Puck is the 60790th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Puck surname appeared 331 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 Puck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Puck 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 Puck

The surname Puck originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "puk," meaning a mischievous sprite or elf from Germanic folklore. This name likely referred to someone with a playful or mischievous nature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Puck can be found in the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare, where the character Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a central figure. This literary reference helped popularize the name and its association with mischief and trickery.

The name Puck has its roots in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony, where it was often associated with rural areas and small villages. Early records show variations in spelling, such as Puck, Pucke, and Pücke.

In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johann Puck, a German composer and organist born in Augsburg in 1630. He composed numerous sacred works and was renowned for his skill as an improviser.

Another historical figure with the surname Puck was Johann Michael Puck, a German painter born in Nuremberg in 1719. He was known for his religious paintings and portraits, many of which adorned churches and noble residences in Germany.

Moving into the 19th century, Johann Baptist Puck was a German theologian and writer born in Wollmesheim in 1836. He wrote extensively on religious topics and was a prominent figure in the Catholic Church in Germany during his lifetime.

In the 20th century, Wolfgang Puck, born in 1949 in St. Veit an der Glan, Austria, is a renowned chef and restaurateur. He popularized California cuisine and is known for his successful chain of restaurants, including Spago and CUT.

The surname Puck has also been found in various place names across Germany, such as Puckenhausen, a small town in Bavaria, and Puckler, a village in Saxony-Anhalt, further emphasizing its German origins and historical presence in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Puck

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

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

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

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