2000
#32,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 657
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.24
Very Rare Last name
Sirk
A Scandinavian surname denoting someone who lived near a small marshy area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 734 Americans carry the last name Sirk. That puts it at #37,403 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 466,968 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sirk 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
734
1 in 466,968
Census rank
#37,403
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
640
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 640 bearers of the surname Sirk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 37403rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sirk
The surname SIRK is of German origin, emerging in the late medieval period around the 14th century. It is derived from the Old German word "sirke," meaning a small stream or creek. This suggests that the name may have originated as a topographic surname, referring to someone who lived near a small watercourse.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SIRK can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, dating back to 1389. In these records, a certain Hans Sirk is mentioned as a landowner and tradesman.
Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the SIRK surname appeared in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. Variations in spelling, such as Sirck, Sircke, and Syrck, were also common during this time.
In the 17th century, the name SIRK gained prominence with the birth of Johann Christoph Sirk (1640-1712), a noted German composer and organist from Nuremberg. His contributions to the development of sacred music in the Baroque era were significant.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Wilhelm Sirk (1811-1879), a German-born industrialist who immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. He established successful textile mills in Pennsylvania and played a crucial role in the growth of the American textile industry.
Moving into the 20th century, the SIRK surname is associated with the influential German-American film director Douglas Sirk (1897-1987). Born Hans Detlef Sierck in Hamburg, he is renowned for his unique style and exploration of themes such as melodrama, social criticism, and gender roles in films like "All That Heaven Allows" and "Imitation of Life."
Another prominent figure with the SIRK surname was the German physicist Hans-Georg Sirk (1919-2007), who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and served as the director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the University of Göttingen.
Lastly, the name SIRK has also been associated with the German-American author and playwright Karl Sirk (1926-2013), whose works often explored themes of immigration, identity, and cultural assimilation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sirk
Among Census respondents with the surname Sirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sirk 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 Sirk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 576
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 22
- Two or more races2.7% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 11
- Black or African American1.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sirk
Sirk 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
#37,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 584
-73 bearers (-11.1%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 5,093 places
2020
#37,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 640
+56 bearers (+9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Up 590 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #32,900 | 657 | 0.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #37,993 | 584 | 0.20 | -73 bearers (-11.1%) | Down 5,093 places |
| 2020 | #37,403 | 640 | 0.21 | +56 bearers (+9.6%) | Up 590 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 Sirk 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 | #37,993 | #37,403 | 1.6% |
| Count | 584 | 640 | 9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.20 | 0.21 | 7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sirk bearers went from 584 to 640 (+9.6% change). The surname moved up 590 positions in the national ranking, going from #37,993 to #37,403.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sirk
FAQ
Sirk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sirk?
Name Census estimates that about 734 living Americans carry the surname Sirk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 466,968 residents.
How common is Sirk?
Sirk ranks #37,403 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.21 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 640 people with the surname Sirk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (734), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.21 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 Sirk.
Has Sirk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sirk went from 584 recorded bearers to 640. That is an increase of 56 (+9.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #37,993 to #37,403.
What does the Census say about the background of Sirk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sirk, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Sirk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (576 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sirk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Sirk (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 Sirk mean?
A Scandinavian surname denoting someone who lived near a small marshy area. 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 Sirk (0.21 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 Sirk?
See how many people are called Sirk on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.