2000
#70,906
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 257
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Thoemke
A regional surname believed to derive from the German word "Thummen" meaning thumb.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 298 Americans carry the last name Thoemke. That puts it at #79,118 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,150,182 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Thoemke 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
298
1 in 1,150,182
Census rank
#79,118
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
260
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 260 bearers of the surname Thoemke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 79118th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoemke, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Thoemke
The surname Thoemke is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the 16th century in the regions of northern Germany and parts of modern-day Poland. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic word "thoem," which referred to a small gathering or assembly of people, potentially indicating that the name's earliest bearers lived in a hamlet or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Thoemke can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the town of Lauenburg in the former Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, dating back to the late 1500s. These records document the presence of families with the name Thoemke living in the area during that time period.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various historical documents from the region, such as tax records and land registers. For instance, a record from 1684 mentions a Johann Thoemke, a farmer from the village of Neustadt in the former Duchy of Pomerania.
As the centuries progressed, the Thoemke name spread across different parts of northern Germany and neighboring regions. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Johann Friedrich Thoemke (1762-1837), a German jurist and legal scholar from the town of Greifenberg in Pomerania, and Carl Thoemke (1825-1897), a banker and entrepreneur from the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Another prominent figure was Karl Thoemke (1859-1936), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and founded the Thoemke Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In the 20th century, one of the most renowned individuals with the Thoemke surname was Hans Thoemke (1907-1998), a German-born architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the reconstruction and development of several German cities after World War II.
While the name Thoemke is not among the most common surnames today, it continues to be found predominantly in northern Germany, as well as in communities with German ancestry in other parts of the world, such as the United States and Canada.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Thoemke
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoemke, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Thoemke 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 Thoemke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 234
- Two or more races5.4% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 8
- Black or African American0.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Thoemke
Thoemke 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
#73,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 266
+9 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 2,099 places
2020
#79,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 260
-6 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 6,113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #70,906 | 257 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #73,005 | 266 | 0.09 | +9 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 2,099 places |
| 2020 | #79,118 | 260 | 0.09 | -6 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 6,113 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 Thoemke 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 | #73,005 | #79,118 | -8.4% |
| Count | 266 | 260 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.09 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Thoemke bearers went from 266 to 260 (-2.3% change). The surname moved down 6,113 positions in the national ranking, going from #73,005 to #79,118.
FAQ
Thoemke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Thoemke?
Name Census estimates that about 298 living Americans carry the surname Thoemke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,150,182 residents.
How common is Thoemke?
Thoemke ranks #79,118 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.09 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 260 people with the surname Thoemke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (298), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.09 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 Thoemke.
Has Thoemke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Thoemke went from 266 recorded bearers to 260. That is a decrease of 6 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #73,005 to #79,118.
What does the Census say about the background of Thoemke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Thoemke, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Thoemke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (234 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Thoemke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (5.4%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Thoemke (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 Thoemke mean?
A regional surname believed to derive from the German word "Thummen" meaning thumb. 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 Thoemke (0.09 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 common is the surname Thoemke?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Thoemke on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.