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

Sikkema, 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 Sikkema surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sikkema in America

Sikkema is the 30367th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sikkema surname appeared 770 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 Sikkema.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sikkema 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 Sikkema

The surname SIKKEMA is of Dutch origin, derived from the region of Sikkema in the northern Netherlands. It is believed to have originated sometime in the late 16th or early 17th century.

The name SIKKEMA likely has its roots in the medieval Dutch word "sikke," which referred to a small stream or ditch. It may have been used to denote someone who lived near or worked with such waterways.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the SIKKEMA name can be found in a 1632 baptismal record from the village of Ferwerd, in the province of Friesland. This record mentions a Sybrand Sikkema, who may have been among the first to bear the surname.

In the 18th century, the SIKKEMA name appears in various Dutch census records and municipal documents, particularly in the Friesland and Groningen provinces. Notable individuals from this period include Jan Sikkema (1704-1783), a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Leeuwarden.

As the Dutch began to explore and settle in other parts of the world, the SIKKEMA name spread to various colonies and territories. In the late 19th century, Pieter Sikkema (1853-1921) emigrated from the Netherlands to South Africa, where he became a successful farmer and landowner.

Another notable figure was Gerrit Sikkema (1879-1955), a Dutch-American artist and painter who was part of the Ashcan School movement. He is known for his realistic depictions of urban life in New York City.

In more recent times, the SIKKEMA name has been associated with the art world through the renowned Sikkema Jenkins & Co. gallery in New York, founded by Brent Sikkema (born 1958) and Susan Jenkins in the late 1990s.

Other individuals of note include Klaas Sikkema (1911-1987), a Dutch theologian and philosopher, and Gerrit Sikkema (1915-1995), a Dutch-American physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of nuclear physics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sikkema

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!