2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Spuck
A surname derived from a German term for a ghostly apparition or specter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Spuck. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spuck 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Spuck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spuck, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spuck
The surname SPUCK is of German origin, with its earliest known roots dating back to the late 16th century in the Rhineland region of western Germany. The name is believed to be derived from the Low German word "spucken," which means "to spit" or "to expectorate." This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who had a habit of spitting or was associated with a particular incident involving spitting.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SPUCK can be found in the parish records of the town of Düsseldorf, where a certain Hans Spuck was listed as a resident in 1587. During this time period, surnames were still in the process of becoming standardized, and spelling variations were common. As such, the name may have been written as Spucke, Spucker, or even Spuckmann in different records.
In the early 17th century, the SPUCK name spread to other parts of Germany, with records showing families bearing this surname in cities like Cologne and Frankfurt. It is possible that some SPUCK families were among the German immigrants who later settled in various parts of North America, particularly in regions like Pennsylvania and the Midwest, where many German communities were established.
While the SPUCK surname is relatively uncommon, there are a few notable individuals who have carried this name throughout history. One example is Johann Spuck, a German theologian and author who lived in the late 16th century and wrote several religious texts. Another is Friedrich Spuck, a 19th-century German painter known for his landscape and genre paintings.
In the realm of literature, the name SPUCK appears in the works of German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who mentioned a character named Spuck in his novel "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship." Additionally, there was a German officer named Hans Spuck who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was mentioned in several contemporary accounts of the time.
Despite its relatively obscure origins, the SPUCK surname has persisted through the centuries, with families bearing this name still found in various parts of Germany and other German-speaking regions, as well as in areas with significant German immigrant populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spuck
Among Census respondents with the surname Spuck, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Spuck 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 Spuck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spuck
Spuck 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-14 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,350 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-6 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,453 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 19,350 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 7,453 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 Spuck 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 | #138,304 | #145,757 | -5.4% |
| Count | 121 | 115 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spuck bearers went from 121 to 115 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 7,453 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #145,757.
FAQ
Spuck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spuck?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Spuck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Spuck?
Spuck ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Spuck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Spuck.
Has Spuck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spuck went from 121 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Spuck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spuck, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%) and Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Spuck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spuck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%), Hispanic (4.3%). 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 Spuck (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 Spuck mean?
A surname derived from a German term for a ghostly apparition or specter. 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 Spuck (0.04 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 Spuck?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.