2000
#9,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,332
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.24
Rare Last name
Spiker
Derived from the Middle English word "spiker," an occupational name for a nail maker or ironmonger.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,709 Americans carry the last name Spiker. That puts it at #9,606 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 92,412 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spiker 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
3.7K
1 in 92,412
Census rank
#9,606
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,234 bearers of the surname Spiker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9606th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spiker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spiker
The surname "SPIKER" is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the German word "Spicker," which means "one who deals in pork or bacon." This suggests that the name's bearers may have been involved in the pork trade or butchery profession.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Alsfeld, in the German state of Hesse, where a man named Hans Spicker was mentioned in a local record from 1542. The name also appears in various other German records from the 16th and 17th centuries, with variations in spelling such as "Spiker" and "Spyker."
As the name spread across Germany, it eventually made its way to other regions of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. In the Netherlands, the name was recorded as "Spijker," which is likely a variation of the German spelling.
One notable bearer of the name was Johann Spicker, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1619 to 1688. He was a prominent figure in the Lutheran Church and served as a professor at the University of Wittenberg.
Another individual of note was Anna Margaretha Spicker, a German writer and poet who lived from 1703 to 1775. She was known for her religious poetry and was widely published during her lifetime.
In England, the name appeared as early as the 17th century, with records showing variations such as "Spiker" and "Spyker." One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in England was John Spiker, who was born in 1642 in the village of Barnsley, Yorkshire.
A notable English bearer of the name was William Spiker, a military officer who served in the British Army during the 18th century. He fought in several campaigns, including the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Another individual of note was Henry Spiker, a British explorer and naturalist who lived from 1785 to 1862. He made several expeditions to South America and the Caribbean, where he documented and collected various plant and animal specimens for scientific study.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spiker
Among Census respondents with the surname Spiker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Spiker 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 Spiker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 3,036
- Two or more races2.6% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 15
- Black or African American0.4% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spiker
Spiker 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
#9,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,457
+125 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 386 places
2020
#9,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,234
-223 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 201 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,019 | 3,332 | 1.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,405 | 3,457 | 1.17 | +125 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 386 places |
| 2020 | #9,606 | 3,234 | 1.08 | -223 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 201 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 Spiker 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 | #9,405 | #9,606 | -2.1% |
| Count | 3,457 | 3,234 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 1.08 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spiker bearers went from 3,457 to 3,234 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 201 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,405 to #9,606.
FAQ
Spiker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spiker?
Name Census estimates that about 3,709 living Americans carry the surname Spiker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 92,412 residents.
How common is Spiker?
Spiker ranks #9,606 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,234 people with the surname Spiker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,709), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Spiker.
Has Spiker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spiker went from 3,457 recorded bearers to 3,234. That is a decrease of 223 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,405 to #9,606.
What does the Census say about the background of Spiker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spiker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Spiker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (3,036 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spiker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Spiker (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 Spiker mean?
Derived from the Middle English word "spiker," an occupational name for a nail maker or ironmonger. 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 Spiker (1.08 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 Americans have the surname Spiker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.