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

Updyke, 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 Updyke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Updyke in America

Updyke is the 25255th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Updyke surname appeared 981 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 Updyke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Updyke 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 Updyke

The surname Updyke has its origins in the medieval English language and is derived from the Old English words "upp" meaning "upper" and "dic" meaning "dike" or "embankment". It is believed to have emerged as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near an upper dike or embankment.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Updyke can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire from the year 1221, where it appears as "Updyk". This suggests that the surname was already in use by the early 13th century in the West Midlands region of England.

Throughout the medieval period, various spellings of the name can be found in historical records, such as "Upedik", "Updik", and "Updyche". These variations reflect the differences in local dialects and scribes' interpretations of the name.

In the 16th century, the Updyke surname appears to have been particularly concentrated in the counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. One notable individual from this time was John Updyke, a landowner and farmer from the village of Overbury in Worcestershire, who was born around 1530.

As the centuries passed, the Updyke family spread across England, with some members even emigrating to the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. One prominent figure was Samuel Updyke, a Quaker from Gloucestershire, who settled in Rhode Island in the late 1600s and played a significant role in the early colonial government.

Other notable individuals with the surname Updyke include:

1. Thomas Updyke (1748-1831), an American Revolutionary War soldier from New Jersey.
2. John Updyke (1799-1878), a member of the Ohio State Senate in the mid-19th century.
3. Cordelia Updyke (1836-1914), an American educator and suffragist from New York.
4. Wilbur Updyke (1868-1941), a Canadian businessman and politician in Manitoba.
5. John Updike (1932-2009), the renowned American novelist, poet, and literary critic, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1982 and 1991.

While the Updyke surname has its roots in medieval England, it has since spread across the globe, with bearers of the name making significant contributions in various fields throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Updyke

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

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

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

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