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

Ranker, 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 Ranker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ranker in America

Ranker is the 46314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ranker surname appeared 460 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 Ranker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ranker 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 Ranker

The surname RANKER has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "ranke," which means "tendril" or "vine." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked with vines or grapevines.

In the early 1300s, the name appeared in various town records and documents in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest recorded instances was in a manuscript from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain "Hans Ranker" was mentioned as a local winemaker.

The name RANKER was also found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 14th century. In these records, the name was sometimes spelled as "Rancker" or "Rancke."

During the 16th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Johann Ranker (1492-1572), a renowned German Protestant theologian and reformer. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.

Another notable individual was Friedrich Ranker (1620-1688), a German composer and organist who lived and worked in the city of Nuremberg. His works contributed significantly to the development of Baroque music in Germany.

In the 19th century, the surname RANKER was associated with Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886), a renowned German historian and one of the founders of modern source-based history. His seminal work, "History of the Popes," published in 1834, is considered a landmark in the field of historiography.

Other noteworthy individuals with the surname RANKER include Theodor Ranker (1815-1888), a German philosopher and writer, and Erich Ranker (1888-1964), a German architect and urban planner who designed several buildings and city plans in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany.

The surname RANKER continues to be relatively common in Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it originated. However, it has also spread to other parts of Europe and the world through migration and diaspora communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ranker

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

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

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

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