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

Reinecke, 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 Reinecke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Reinecke in America

Reinecke is the 18057th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Reinecke surname appeared 1,544 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Reinecke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Reinecke 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 Reinecke

The surname Reinecke originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Middle Low German word "reinicke," which means "little fox." This nickname was likely given to someone who was considered cunning or sly, much like a fox.

The name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of northern Germany, particularly in areas where Low German dialects were spoken, such as Lower Saxony, Bremen, and Hamburg. Early spellings of the name included Reyneke, Reinike, and Reynike.

One of the earliest known references to the name Reinecke can be found in the medieval Dutch/Low German epic poem "Reynard the Fox," which dates back to the 12th century. The poem features a cunning fox named Reinecke as the protagonist, and it is believed to have popularized the name in the region.

In the 14th century, the name Reinecke appeared in various historical records and manuscripts, including the Hamburg Stadtbuch (city book) from 1350, which mentions a merchant named Claus Reinecke.

One notable individual with the surname Reinecke was Johann Christian Reinecke (1668-1741), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Another prominent figure was Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (1824-1910), a German composer, conductor, and pianist. He composed numerous works, including operas, symphonies, and chamber music, and served as the director of the Leipzig Conservatory from 1860 to 1895.

In the 19th century, the Reinecke family produced several notable scientists and academics, such as Christian Reinecke (1804-1882), a German mineralogist and geologist, and Carl Reinecke (1824-1919), a German anatomist and physiologist.

The name Reinecke also appeared in literature, with Wilhelm Reinecke (1862-1923), a German writer and poet, known for his novels and short stories depicting rural life in northern Germany.

Lastly, Hans Reinecke (1880-1952) was a German architect and urban planner who made significant contributions to the development of modern urban planning principles in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Reinecke

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

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

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

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