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

Schenk, 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 Schenk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schenk in America

Schenk is the 4637th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schenk surname appeared 7,651 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Schenk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schenk 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 Schenk

The surname Schenk is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Middle High German word 'schenke', which means 'cup-bearer' or 'butler'. It originally referred to a person who served wine or other beverages at the court of a nobleman or monarch.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Schenk date back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Wolfram Schenk, a German knight who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He is mentioned in the historical records of the Teutonic Order, a German Catholic military order that played a significant role in the Northern Crusades.

Another notable figure with the surname Schenk was Eberhard Schenk, a German politician and diplomat who lived from 1530 to 1592. He served as the Chancellor of the Margraviate of Baden and played a crucial role in the negotiations that led to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, which ended the religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire.

In the 16th century, the Schenk family was prominent in the region of Westphalia, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. One of the most famous members of the family from this period was Johann Schenk von Nideggen, a military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). He was born in 1595 and died in 1645.

The name Schenk can also be found in various place names across Germany, such as Schenkenzell, a town in the Black Forest region, and Schenkenberg, a hill in the city of Wuppertal. These place names likely derived from the surname or were named after individuals bearing the name.

Another notable individual with the surname Schenk was Theodor Schenk, a German composer and violinist who lived from 1756 to 1830. He was a respected musician during his time and composed several operas and other works.

In more recent history, one of the most famous bearers of the surname Schenk was Gerhard Schenk, a German athlete who competed in track and field events. He won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schenk

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

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

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

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