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

Sheker, 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 Sheker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sheker in America

Sheker is the 141140th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sheker surname appeared 118 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sheker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sheker 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 Sheker

The surname "SHEKER" is believed to have originated in Turkey, and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Turkish word "şeker," which means "sugar." This may indicate that the name's earliest bearers were involved in the sugar trade or production.

The name appears in several historical records from the Ottoman Empire. One of the earliest mentions is in a tax register from 1522, which lists a "Hasan Sheker" as a resident of Istanbul. Another early reference is found in a court document from 1578, where a "Fatma Sheker" is mentioned in a property dispute.

In the 17th century, the name spread to other parts of the Ottoman Empire, including the Balkans and the Middle East. A notable bearer from this period was Ahmed Sheker (1620-1691), a renowned calligrapher and artist who worked in the court of Sultan Mehmed IV.

As the Ottoman Empire declined in the 19th century, many families with the name "SHEKER" emigrated to other parts of the world. In the 1860s, a group of Sheker families settled in the city of Mersin, which was then part of the Ottoman province of Adana.

One of the most prominent figures with the surname "SHEKER" was Kemal Sheker (1888-1973), a Turkish politician and diplomat who served as the country's ambassador to the United States in the 1940s.

Other notable individuals with this surname include:

1. Ahmet Sheker (1905-1980), a Turkish novelist and playwright.
2. Zeynep Sheker (born 1976), a contemporary Turkish artist known for her installations and multimedia works.
3. Mehmet Sheker (1912-1998), a Turkish economist and academic who taught at Istanbul University.
4. Ayla Sheker (born 1939), a Turkish singer and actress who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
5. Hasan Sheker (1921-2002), a Turkish architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Ankara.

While the name has its roots in Turkey, it has since spread to other countries through migration and cultural exchange. However, the earliest and most significant references to the surname "SHEKER" can be found in the historical records of the Ottoman Empire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sheker

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

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

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

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