2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rolke
A surname possibly of Low German origin meaning "little ruler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Rolke. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rolke 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Rolke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolke, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rolke
The surname ROLKE is believed to have originated in Germany, likely during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from an old German word related to "roll" or "roller," perhaps indicating an occupation or trade involving rolling or the production of rollers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ROLKE can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony dating back to the 10th century. In this manuscript, a certain "Rolke de Bremenvorde" is mentioned in a land transaction from the year 1256.
Another early reference to the name ROLKE appears in the Freiberger Stadtbuch, a book of records from the town of Freiberg in Saxony, where a "Hans Rolke" is listed as a resident in the year 1432.
The name ROLKE may also be connected to certain place names in Germany, such as Rolkendorf or Rolkenhagen, which could indicate the origin of some ROLKE families.
One notable bearer of the ROLKE surname was Johann Rolke (1579-1644), a German Lutheran theologian and author who served as a pastor in Magdeburg and Wittenberg.
Another historical figure with the ROLKE name was Friedrich Rolke (1657-1728), a German composer and organist who was active in the city of Nuremberg during the Baroque era.
In the 18th century, there was a German painter named Georg Rolke (1727-1800) who was known for his landscape paintings and works depicting rural life.
During the 19th century, a man named Carl Rolke (1818-1891) gained recognition as a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities.
One more individual of note with the ROLKE surname was Emilie Rolke (1853-1928), a German writer and feminist activist who advocated for women's rights and education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rolke
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolke, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rolke 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 Rolke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 105
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rolke
Rolke 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
-12 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,495 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-16 bearers (-13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,190 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 17,495 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-13.0%) | Down 15,190 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 Rolke 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 | #136,449 | #151,639 | -11.1% |
| Count | 123 | 107 | -13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rolke bearers went from 123 to 107 (-13.0% change). The surname moved down 15,190 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #151,639.
FAQ
Rolke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rolke?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Rolke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Rolke?
Rolke ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Rolke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Rolke.
Has Rolke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rolke went from 123 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 16 (-13.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Rolke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolke, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Rolke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rolke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.1%), Black (0.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Rolke (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 Rolke mean?
A surname possibly of Low German origin meaning "little ruler". 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 Rolke (0.04 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 common is the surname Rolke?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Rolke at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.