2000
#11,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,459
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Schneck
A German occupational surname derived from Middle High German "snecke," meaning a maker or seller of lace or ribbon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,734 Americans carry the last name Schneck. That puts it at #12,431 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,367 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schneck 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
2.7K
1 in 125,367
Census rank
#12,431
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,384 bearers of the surname Schneck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12431st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schneck, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schneck
The surname Schneck is of German origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where it was derived from the Middle High German word "snecke," meaning "snail." This likely referred to someone who moved slowly or deliberately, or perhaps someone who lived in a place associated with snails.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schneck can be found in the records of the town of Nürnberg, where a "Hans Schneck" is mentioned in a document from 1345. The name also appears in various other historical records and manuscripts from the 14th and 15th centuries across southern Germany.
In the 16th century, the surname Schneck began to spread beyond its Bavarian origins. One notable figure was Johann Schneck, a Lutheran theologian and reformer who was born in Nuremberg in 1528 and died in 1592. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
Another prominent individual with the surname Schneck was Christian Gottlieb Schneck, a German-American Lutheran minister and educator who was born in Heidelberg in 1783 and died in 1850. He emigrated to the United States in 1808 and became a prominent figure in the German Lutheran community in Pennsylvania.
In the 19th century, the name Schneck was also found in various place names across Germany, such as Schneckenhausen and Schneckenburg. These names likely derived from the surname itself, indicating areas where people with the name Schneck had settled.
Other notable individuals with the surname Schneck include Johann Schneck (1542-1611), a German theologian and author; Matthias Schneck (1678-1753), a German architect and builder; and Johann Georg Schneck (1758-1828), a German-American Lutheran minister and educator who served in Pennsylvania.
Throughout its history, the surname Schneck has maintained its German roots and associations with the word "snail," reflecting its origins in the Bavarian region and the meanings attached to the name in its early days.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schneck
Among Census respondents with the surname Schneck, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Schneck 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 Schneck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 2,212
- Two or more races2.8% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 34
- Black or African American0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schneck
Schneck 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
#11,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,767
+308 bearers (+12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 294 places
2020
#12,431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,384
-383 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 1,036 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,689 | 2,459 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,395 | 2,767 | 0.94 | +308 bearers (+12.5%) | Up 294 places |
| 2020 | #12,431 | 2,384 | 0.80 | -383 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,036 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 Schneck 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 | #11,395 | #12,431 | -9.1% |
| Count | 2,767 | 2,384 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.80 | -15.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schneck bearers went from 2,767 to 2,384 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,036 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,395 to #12,431.
FAQ
Schneck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schneck?
Name Census estimates that about 2,734 living Americans carry the surname Schneck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,367 residents.
How common is Schneck?
Schneck ranks #12,431 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,384 people with the surname Schneck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,734), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Schneck.
Has Schneck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schneck went from 2,767 recorded bearers to 2,384. That is a decrease of 383 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,395 to #12,431.
What does the Census say about the background of Schneck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schneck, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Schneck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (2,212 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schneck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Schneck (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 Schneck mean?
A German occupational surname derived from Middle High German "snecke," meaning a maker or seller of lace or ribbon. 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 Schneck (0.80 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 are called Schneck?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Schneck on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.