2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Spruck
An Americanized spelling of the German surname "Spruch" meaning speech or saying.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Spruck. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spruck 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Spruck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spruck, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spruck
The surname SPRUCK is thought to have originated in the region of Saxony in present-day Germany during the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Old High German word "sprok," which meant a branch or twig, suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a wooded area or who worked with wood.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SPRUCK surname appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 12th century. The name is listed as "Sproc" in a document from 1192, which mentions a landowner named Berthold Sproc.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various forms, such as "Sprocke" and "Sprok," in the records of the city of Magdeburg, indicating that the family had established itself in the area. A notable figure from this time was Konrad Sprock, a merchant and alderman in Magdeburg who lived during the late 1200s.
The SPRUCK surname can also be traced to the town of Sprockhovel, located in the Ruhr region of Germany. The town's name, which dates back to the 13th century, is derived from the same Old High German root as the surname, suggesting a connection between the place and the family name.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure bearing the SPRUCK surname was Johann Spruck, a Lutheran theologian and reformer who lived from 1505 to 1567. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
Another notable individual with the SPRUCK surname was Christoph Spruck, a German composer and organist who lived from 1610 to 1675. He was highly regarded during his lifetime and composed numerous works for organ and choir.
As the SPRUCK family migrated and spread across Europe, the name underwent various spelling variations, including Sprok, Spruk, and Sprück. In the 19th century, Johann Gottlieb Sprück, a German-born farmer and settler, brought the SPRUCK name to the United States when he immigrated to Wisconsin in 1848.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spruck
Among Census respondents with the surname Spruck, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Spruck 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 Spruck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spruck
Spruck 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+8 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,322 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-16 bearers (-13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 11,864 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 1,322 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -16 bearers (-13.9%) | Down 11,864 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 Spruck 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 | #144,141 | #156,005 | -8.2% |
| Count | 115 | 99 | -13.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spruck bearers went from 115 to 99 (-13.9% change). The surname moved down 11,864 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #156,005.
FAQ
Spruck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spruck?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Spruck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Spruck?
Spruck ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Spruck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Spruck.
Has Spruck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spruck went from 115 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 16 (-13.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Spruck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spruck, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Spruck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spruck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.0%), Hispanic (1.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Spruck (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 Spruck mean?
An Americanized spelling of the German surname "Spruch" meaning speech or saying. 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 Spruck (0.03 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 share the surname Spruck?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.