2000
#5,129
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,282
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.33
Rare Last name
Speck
A metonymic occupational surname for a pork butcher or someone who prepared and sold bacon or ham.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,734 Americans carry the last name Speck. That puts it at #5,691 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,899 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Speck 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Speck with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.7K
1 in 50,899
Census rank
#5,691
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,872 bearers of the surname Speck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5691st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Speck, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Speck
The surname SPECK is of German origin, dating back to the early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "specke," which means "bacon" or "pork fat." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who worked with pork or was a butcher.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Speck" or "Specke" in various medieval German records and documents. One of the earliest known references is in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicorum, a collection of medieval charters from the region of Westphalia, where the name is mentioned in a document dated 1195.
The SPECK surname can also be traced back to specific regions in Germany, such as the Rhineland and Saxony, where it was particularly prevalent. Some variations of the name included "Specken," "Speckmann," and "Speckter," which may have indicated a connection to a particular place or occupation.
One notable historical figure with the surname SPECK was Johannes Speck (c. 1450-1520), a German Renaissance humanist and scholar who served as the rector of the University of Leipzig. Another was Reinhard Speck (1839-1909), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin during the late 19th century.
In the 16th century, the SPECK surname appeared in the Württembergisches Geschlechterbuch, a register of noble families in the region of Württemberg. One entry mentions a Jörg Speck, a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Markgröningen in the late 1500s.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the SPECK name spread throughout other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with German immigration. For example, records show individuals with the surname SPECK residing in the Netherlands and parts of Eastern Europe during this time period.
One notable bearer of the SPECK name was Johann Christoph Speck (1676-1742), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of Meiningen. Another was Johann Georg Speck (1733-1807), a German writer and translator who was known for his translations of French and English literary works.
By the 19th century, the SPECK surname had become well-established in various parts of the German-speaking world, as well as in areas with significant German immigration, such as the United States and Canada. Some notable individuals from this period include Carl Speck (1800-1874), a German-American artist and engraver, and Wilhelm Speck (1855-1929), a German industrialist and entrepreneur.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Speck
Among Census respondents with the surname Speck, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Speck 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 Speck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 5,320
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 220
- Two or more races3.1% · 180
- Black or African American1.0% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Speck
Speck 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
#5,521
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,297
+15 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 2.13
Rank movement Down 392 places
2020
#5,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,872
-425 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 1.96
Rank movement Down 170 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,129 | 6,282 | 2.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,521 | 6,297 | 2.13 | +15 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 392 places |
| 2020 | #5,691 | 5,872 | 1.96 | -425 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 170 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 Speck 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 | #5,521 | #5,691 | -3.1% |
| Count | 6,297 | 5,872 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.13 | 1.96 | -7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Speck bearers went from 6,297 to 5,872 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 170 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,521 to #5,691.
FAQ
Speck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Speck?
Name Census estimates that about 6,734 living Americans carry the surname Speck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,899 residents.
How common is Speck?
Speck ranks #5,691 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,872 people with the surname Speck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,734), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Speck.
Has Speck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Speck went from 6,297 recorded bearers to 5,872. That is a decrease of 425 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,521 to #5,691.
What does the Census say about the background of Speck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Speck, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Speck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (5,320 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Speck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Speck (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 Speck mean?
A metonymic occupational surname for a pork butcher or someone who prepared and sold bacon or ham. 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 Speck (1.96 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 surname Speck?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.