Thielking last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Thielking

A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "king's woods" or "royal woods."

Thielking, 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 Thielking surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thielking in America

Thielking is the 138304th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thielking surname appeared 121 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 Thielking.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thielking 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank1383041349292.47%
Count1211155.08%
Proportion per 100k0.040.040.00%

The history of the last name Thielking

The surname Thielking originated in the northern German regions of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Low German words "tiel" meaning "tile" and "king" meaning "maker" or "burner", indicating that the earliest bearers were involved in the production of tiles or worked as tile makers.

According to historical records, the earliest known mention of the Thielking name dates back to the 14th century in the city of Lübeck, a prominent trading hub in the Hanseatic League. In a guild registry from 1382, a tile maker named Hans Thielking is listed among the members of the local craftsmen's guild.

In the 15th century, the Thielking family spread to other parts of northern Germany, with records showing branches in the cities of Hamburg and Bremen. A notable figure was Hinrich Thielking, a merchant from Bremen who embarked on trading expeditions to England and the Netherlands in the late 1400s.

The Thielking name can also be found in historical documents from the 16th and 17th centuries in the region of Holstein, which was then a part of the Danish realm. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Claus Thielking, a farmer from the village of Itzehoe, mentioned in a land registry from 1572.

As the centuries progressed, the Thielking surname spread further across northern Germany and into neighboring regions. In the 18th century, Johannes Thielking (1693-1768), a Lutheran pastor from Schleswig, gained recognition for his theological writings and sermons.

Another notable bearer of the name was Wilhelm Thielking (1789-1854), a German composer and music teacher from Hamburg. He is remembered for his contributions to the development of choral music and his compositions for church services.

During the 19th century, the Thielking family branched out to other parts of Europe and even overseas. One prominent individual was Carl Thielking (1823-1901), a German-born merchant who settled in the United States and became a successful businessman in New York City.

While the surname Thielking is relatively uncommon today, it continues to be associated with its northern German origins and the historical tradition of tile making that gave rise to this distinctive family name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thielking

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

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 Thielking was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only90.91%110
Non-Hispanic Black Only0.00%0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races4.13%5
Hispanic Origin(S)%(S)

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 Thielking has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White90.91%96.52%-5.99%
Black0.00%0.00%0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%(S)%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.00%0.00%0.00%
Two or More Races4.13%0.00%200.00%
Hispanic(S)%(S)%(S)%

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

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

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