2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Schackow
A German surname derived from a geographical location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Schackow. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schackow 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Schackow in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schackow, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schackow
The surname Schackow has its origins in Germany, with records indicating it emerged in the 16th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Low German word "schacke," which means "border" or "boundary." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived near a border region or along a boundary line.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Schackow surname can be found in historical documents from the town of Mecklenburg in northern Germany, dated around 1580. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in this region during the 16th and 17th centuries.
In the late 17th century, a Schackow family is mentioned in a church register from the village of Schwerin, located in the modern-day state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This record suggests that the name had spread to other areas of northern Germany by that time.
One notable figure bearing the Schackow surname was Johann Schackow, a Lutheran minister who lived in the late 16th century. He served as the pastor of St. Mary's Church in the town of Wismar, located in present-day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Another individual of historical significance was Friedrich Schackow, a German architect born in 1815 in the town of Prenzlau, Brandenburg. He is credited with designing several notable buildings in Berlin during the mid-19th century, including the Reichstag building and the Berliner Stadtschloss.
In the 18th century, a merchant named Hans Schackow is recorded as having established a successful trading business in the city of Hamburg. His descendants continued the family's commercial enterprises in the region for several generations.
The Schackow name can also be found in historical records from the region of Pomerania, which was once part of Prussia and is now divided between Germany and Poland. In the 19th century, a family of landowners named Schackow owned a sizable estate in the town of Białogard, located in what is now northwestern Poland.
Throughout its history, the Schackow surname has maintained a strong presence in northern Germany, particularly in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, and Schleswig-Holstein. While the name has spread to other parts of the world due to emigration, its roots can be traced back to the borderlands of northern Germany in the 16th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schackow
Among Census respondents with the surname Schackow, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Schackow 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 Schackow surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schackow
Schackow 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+3 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,862 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-10 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,222 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 5,862 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 11,222 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 Schackow 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 | #133,048 | #144,270 | -8.4% |
| Count | 127 | 117 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schackow bearers went from 127 to 117 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 11,222 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #144,270.
FAQ
Schackow surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schackow?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Schackow. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Schackow?
Schackow ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Schackow. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Schackow.
Has Schackow become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schackow went from 127 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Schackow?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schackow, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Schackow in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schackow appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Schackow (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 Schackow mean?
A German surname derived from a geographical location. 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 Schackow (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 many people have the last name Schackow?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Schackow? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.