2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Schulken
A German surname derived from a variant of "Schulke," referring to an administrative position or occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Schulken. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schulken 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Schulken in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schulken, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schulken
The surname Schulken is believed to have originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Schulke," which means "little school" or "small school," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or worked at a small school or schoolhouse.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Schulken can be found in the town records of Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), where a Johann Schulken was listed as a resident in 1583. The name also appears in various church records and tax rolls throughout the 17th and 18th centuries in the regions of Saxony and Brandenburg.
In the 19th century, the Schulken surname began to spread beyond the borders of Germany, with some bearers of the name migrating to other parts of Europe and North America. For example, a Karl Schulken (1825-1898) was born in Prussia but later settled in the United States, where he worked as a farmer in Wisconsin.
Another notable individual with the Schulken surname was Friedrich Schulken (1876-1942), a German-born artist and sculptor who was active in the early 20th century. His works can be found in various museums and galleries across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of a variant spelling of the name is "Schulcken," which appears in a church register from the village of Halle, Saxony, in 1694. This variation likely arose due to regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Other individuals who bore the Schulken surname throughout history include:
1. Hans Schulken (1612-1678), a merchant and landowner in the town of Erfurt, Thuringia.
2. Anna Schulken (1755-1832), a midwife and herbalist who practiced in the village of Bützow, Mecklenburg.
3. Ernst Schulken (1821-1887), a German-born poet and playwright who lived and worked in Berlin.
4. Georg Schulken (1880-1946), a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City in the early 20th century.
5. Emilie Schulken (1898-1979), a German-born artist and illustrator known for her children's book illustrations.
While the Schulken surname is not among the most common in Germany or other parts of the world, it has a rich history and can be traced back several centuries, with bearers of the name contributing to various fields and leaving their mark in various regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schulken
Among Census respondents with the surname Schulken, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Schulken 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 Schulken surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.7% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino16.1% · 18
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schulken
Schulken 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+5 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,434 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 701 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 4,434 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 701 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 Schulken 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 | #147,253 | #147,954 | -0.5% |
| Count | 112 | 112 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schulken bearers went from 112 to 112 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 701 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #147,954.
FAQ
Schulken surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schulken?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Schulken. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Schulken?
Schulken ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Schulken. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Schulken.
Has Schulken become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schulken went from 112 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Schulken?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schulken, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Schulken in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.7% (87 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schulken appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.7%), Hispanic (16.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Schulken (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 Schulken mean?
A German surname derived from a variant of "Schulke," referring to an administrative position or occupation. 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 Schulken (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 Schulken?
Want to know how many people are called Schulken? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.