Find out how popular the last name Tank is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tank.

Tank, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tank surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tank in America

Tank is the 14127th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tank surname appeared 2,127 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Tank.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tank to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Tank

The surname TANK is believed to have originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "tanc," which referred to a small pool or pond. This suggests that the name may have initially been given as a descriptive surname to someone who lived near a small body of water.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname TANK can be found in various medieval records and documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is the appearance of the name in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a census-like record compiled in 1273 during the reign of King Edward I.

Throughout history, the surname TANK has undergone various spelling variations, such as Tanke, Tancke, and Taunke. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects, scribal errors, and the lack of standardized spelling conventions in earlier times.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname TANK was John Tanke, a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Broughton, Oxfordshire, in the late 14th century. Records from the time indicate that he was born around 1350 and lived until the early 1400s.

Another notable figure with the surname TANK was Sir William Tanke, a knight who served in the army of King Henry V during the Hundred Years' War. He fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and was later granted lands in Normandy for his service.

In the 16th century, the name TANK appears in the records of the city of London, where a merchant named Richard Tanke is mentioned in the Guild of Mercers records from 1567. He was a successful trader who dealt in various goods, including textiles and spices.

During the 17th century, the name TANK can be found in the parish records of several English counties, such as Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. One notable figure from this time was John Tanke, a clergyman who served as the rector of the parish of Swindon from 1634 until his death in 1671.

In the 18th century, the surname TANK was also found in Scotland, where a family of that name lived in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. One member of this family, James Tank, was a prominent merchant and shipowner who lived from 1725 to 1798.

As the centuries passed, the surname TANK continued to be found throughout various regions of England and Scotland, with some bearers of the name also migrating to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tank

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tank.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tank was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tank has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tank was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tank, please contact us.

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