2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tenkate
A Dutch locational surname likely derived from a farm or place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Tenkate. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tenkate 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Tenkate in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenkate, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tenkate
The surname TENKATE originated in the Netherlands, first appearing in historical records from the 16th century. It is a locational surname derived from the Dutch phrase "ten Kate," which means "at the cottage" or "by the cottage." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname lived near a small, humble dwelling or cottage.
TENKATE is believed to have emerged in the provinces of North Holland and South Holland, where it was primarily concentrated in the early days. The name likely originated as a way to distinguish individuals by the location of their homes, a common practice in the Netherlands during that period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the TENKATE surname can be found in the Leiden Cloth Makers' Guild records from the late 16th century, where a certain Jan Tenkate was listed as a member in 1592. This indicates that TENKATE was already an established surname by that time.
In the 17th century, the TENKATE name appeared in various Dutch records, including church registers and municipal archives. For example, the baptism of Pieter Tenkate was recorded in the Oude Kerk (Old Church) in Amsterdam in 1637.
A notable figure bearing this surname was Lambertus Tenkate (1604-1649), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still life and genre paintings. His works can be found in several prominent museums, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Another historical figure was Tobias Tenkate (1650-1718), a Dutch Protestant minister and author who served as a pastor in various cities across the Netherlands. He wrote several theological works that were widely read during his lifetime.
In the 18th century, the TENKATE surname spread beyond the Netherlands to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas due to Dutch migration. For instance, Johannes Tenkate (1717-1789) was a Dutch Reformed minister who emigrated to New York in the 1740s and served as a pastor in several Dutch Reformed churches in the American colonies.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the TENKATE name continued to appear in various records and documents across Europe and the Americas. Notable individuals included Willem Tenkate (1825-1891), a Dutch politician and businessman who served as a member of the Dutch parliament, and Hendrik Tenkate (1878-1953), a Dutch-American artist and illustrator known for his etchings and lithographs.
While the TENKATE surname originated in the Netherlands, it has since spread to other parts of the world, reflecting the global reach of Dutch migration and cultural influence over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tenkate
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenkate, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tenkate 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 Tenkate surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 7
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tenkate
Tenkate 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+5 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,357 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-14 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,450 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 4,357 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 12,450 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 Tenkate 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 | #141,140 | #153,590 | -8.8% |
| Count | 118 | 104 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tenkate bearers went from 118 to 104 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 12,450 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #153,590.
FAQ
Tenkate surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tenkate?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Tenkate. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Tenkate?
Tenkate ranks #153,590 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 104 people with the surname Tenkate. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), 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 Tenkate.
Has Tenkate become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tenkate went from 118 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Tenkate?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tenkate, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Tenkate in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tenkate appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Hispanic (6.7%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Tenkate (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 Tenkate mean?
A Dutch locational surname likely derived from a farm or place name. 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 Tenkate (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 have the surname Tenkate?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.