2000
#5,284
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,062
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.25
Rare Last name
Reinke
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "little brook" or "channel."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,568 Americans carry the last name Reinke. That puts it at #5,819 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,185 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reinke surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
6.6K
1 in 52,185
Census rank
#5,819
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,728 bearers of the surname Reinke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5819th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinke, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reinke
The surname REINKE is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Rein", which means "pure" or "clean", and may have initially been used as a nickname for someone with a pure or unblemished character.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the REINKE surname can be found in the town of Reinfeld, located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The town's name, which translates to "pure field", suggests a connection to the surname's origins.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the REINKE name appeared in various medieval records and manuscripts across Northern Germany. For instance, a knight named Reinke von Dorneburg was mentioned in a chronicle from 1325, detailing his participation in a local conflict near the city of Lübeck.
In the 15th century, the REINKE surname gained prominence with the publication of the Low German literary work "Reynke de Vos" (Reynard the Fox) by an unknown author. This satirical animal fable, which features a cunning fox named Reinke, became widely popular and influenced subsequent literary works across Europe.
Notable individuals with the REINKE surname include Johann Christian Reinke (1737-1815), a German jurist and legal scholar who authored several influential works on German civil law. Another prominent figure was August Wilhelm Reinke (1849-1919), a German botanist and university professor who made significant contributions to the study of plant physiology and ecology.
During the 19th century, the REINKE surname spread beyond Germany as many individuals emigrated to other parts of the world. One such individual was Friedrich Reinke (1824-1903), a German immigrant to the United States who settled in Wisconsin and became a successful farmer and landowner.
In the 20th century, Otto Reinke (1876-1965), a German businessman and industrialist, played a pivotal role in the development of the German chemical industry. He held leadership positions in several companies, including the prominent chemical company BASF.
Throughout history, the REINKE surname has been closely associated with its German roots and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, writers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reinke
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinke, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Reinke bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Reinke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 5,391
- Two or more races2.8% · 160
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 113
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 34
- Black or African American0.3% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reinke
Reinke appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,836
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,926
-136 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 2.01
Rank movement Down 552 places
2020
#5,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,728
-198 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 1.92
Rank movement Up 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,284 | 6,062 | 2.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,836 | 5,926 | 2.01 | -136 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 552 places |
| 2020 | #5,819 | 5,728 | 1.92 | -198 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 17 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Reinke surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,836 | #5,819 | 0.3% |
| Count | 5,926 | 5,728 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.01 | 1.92 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reinke bearers went from 5,926 to 5,728 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,836 to #5,819.
FAQ
Reinke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reinke?
Name Census estimates that about 6,568 living Americans carry the surname Reinke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,185 residents.
How common is Reinke?
Reinke ranks #5,819 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,728 people with the surname Reinke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,568), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Reinke.
Has Reinke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reinke went from 5,926 recorded bearers to 5,728. That is a decrease of 198 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,836 to #5,819.
What does the Census say about the background of Reinke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reinke, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Reinke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (5,391 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reinke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Reinke (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Reinke mean?
A German habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "little brook" or "channel." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Reinke (1.92 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Reinke?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.