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

Unck, 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 Unck surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Unck in America

Unck is the 159712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Unck surname appeared 101 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 Unck.

We can also compare 2010 data for Unck 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 Unck

The surname UNCK is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 15th or 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "unk," which means "unknown" or "strange." This suggests that the name may have been given as a descriptive surname to someone who was perceived as an outsider or someone who was considered unusual or different in some way.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname UNCK can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, where an individual named Hans Unck was mentioned in 1486. Another early reference to the name appears in the parish records of Cologne, Germany, where a certain Gertrude Unck was documented in 1521.

In the 17th century, the surname UNCK began to appear in various other regions of Germany, as well as in neighboring countries like the Netherlands and Belgium. One notable figure from this time period was Johann Unck, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1620 to 1688.

As the name spread throughout Europe, it also underwent various spelling variations, such as Unck, Uncke, Unk, and Uncken. These alternate spellings were often influenced by regional dialects and scribal interpretations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname UNCK in England can be traced back to the 16th century, when a family with that name settled in the county of Yorkshire. A prominent member of this family was Sir Thomas Unck, who lived from 1548 to 1616 and served as a member of the English Parliament.

In the 18th century, the UNCK surname gained further recognition with the birth of Johann Friedrich Unck (1720-1788), a German composer and organist who made significant contributions to the development of church music during the Baroque period.

Another notable figure with the UNCK surname was Johann Heinrich Unck (1765-1835), a German painter and engraver who was renowned for his landscape paintings and etchings depicting scenes from the Rhine region.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the UNCK surname continued to be found across various parts of Europe, particularly in Germany, the Netherlands, and England. Some individuals of note during this time period include Friedrich Wilhelm Unck (1810-1892), a German politician and lawyer, and Albert Unck (1874-1945), a Dutch architect and urban planner.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Unck

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

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

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

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