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

Tek, 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 Tek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tek in America

Tek is the 65066th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tek surname appeared 305 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Tek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tek 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 Tek

The surname TEK is believed to have originated in Turkey, with its earliest known references dating back to the 15th century. The name is derived from the Turkish word "tek," meaning "single" or "alone," indicating that it was likely a descriptive surname given to someone who lived alone or was an only child.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname TEK can be found in Ottoman court documents from the mid-15th century, where a certain Mustafa Tek is mentioned as a landowner in the province of Bursa. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region during that time period.

In the 16th century, the TEK surname appears in several historical manuscripts documenting the lives and achievements of notable individuals from the Ottoman Empire. One such figure was Mehmet Tek, a skilled calligrapher and poet who was born in Edirne in 1520 and passed away in Istanbul in 1587.

As the Ottoman Empire expanded its territory, the TEK surname likely spread to other regions, including parts of the Balkans and the Middle East. In the 18th century, there are records of a merchant named Ibrahim Tek who traded goods between Istanbul and Damascus.

The 19th century saw the TEK surname gain prominence in various fields. Ali Tek, born in 1825 in Trabzon, was a renowned architect who designed several iconic buildings in Istanbul, including the Dolmabahçe Palace. Fatma Tek, born in 1840 in Aleppo, was a pioneering educator who established one of the first schools for girls in the region.

Another notable figure with the TEK surname was Osman Tek, a Turkish military officer who played a crucial role in the Gallipoli Campaign during World War I. He was born in 1878 in Erzurum and died in 1956 in Ankara, where he is buried in the Turkish State Cemetery.

While the TEK surname has its roots in Turkey, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through migration and diaspora communities. However, its earliest origins and historical significance are closely tied to the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish people.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tek

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

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 Tek 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 Tek 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 Tek was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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