2000
#13,282
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Tank
An occupational surname for someone who made or maintained tanks or cisterns for holding liquids, or lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,655 Americans carry the last name Tank. That puts it at #12,731 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,098 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tank 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 Tank with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 129,098
Census rank
#12,731
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,315 bearers of the surname Tank in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12731st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tank, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tank
Among Census respondents with the surname Tank, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Tank 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 Tank surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.0% · 1,830
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.9% · 321
- Two or more races3.0% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 60
- Black or African American1.3% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tank
Tank 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
#14,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,127
+20 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 845 places
2020
#12,731
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,315
+188 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 1,396 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,282 | 2,107 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,127 | 2,127 | 0.72 | +20 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 845 places |
| 2020 | #12,731 | 2,315 | 0.77 | +188 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 1,396 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 Tank 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 | #14,127 | #12,731 | 9.9% |
| Count | 2,127 | 2,315 | 8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.77 | 7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tank bearers went from 2,127 to 2,315 (+8.8% change). The surname moved up 1,396 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,127 to #12,731.
FAQ
Tank surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tank?
Name Census estimates that about 2,655 living Americans carry the surname Tank. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,098 residents.
How common is Tank?
Tank ranks #12,731 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,315 people with the surname Tank. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,655), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Tank.
Has Tank become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tank went from 2,127 recorded bearers to 2,315. That is an increase of 188 (+8.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,127 to #12,731.
What does the Census say about the background of Tank?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tank, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Tank in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (1,830 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tank appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (13.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Tank (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 Tank mean?
An occupational surname for someone who made or maintained tanks or cisterns for holding liquids, or lived near one. 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 Tank (0.77 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 Tank?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.