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

Voelker, 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 Voelker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Voelker in America

Voelker is the 7069th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Voelker surname appeared 4,735 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Voelker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Voelker 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 Voelker

The surname Voelker has its origins in Germany, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "Volk," which means "people" or "folk." The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who was seen as representing the common people or as being a person of the people.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Voelker can be found in the records of the town of Dortmund, located in the Ruhr region of Germany, in the 14th century. The name was also prevalent in other parts of western Germany, such as the Rhineland and the Palatinate regions.

During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in various ways, including Folker, Volker, and Völker, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Voelker was Johannes Voelker, a German theologian and reformer who was born in 1508 in the town of Hersfeld. He played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany and was a close associate of Martin Luther.

Another prominent individual with the surname Voelker was Johann Christoph Voelker, a German philosopher and educator who lived from 1665 to 1737. He was a proponent of the Enlightenment and wrote extensively on topics such as logic, metaphysics, and ethics.

In the 19th century, the name Voelker gained further recognition with the birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Voelker (1819-1896), a German artist and painter known for his landscapes and historical scenes.

The surname Voelker can also be found in various place names throughout Germany, such as Völkersbach, a town in the state of Hesse, and Völkersen, a village in Lower Saxony.

Other notable individuals with the surname Voelker include Karl Voelker (1853-1919), a German architect who designed several prominent buildings in Berlin, and Toni Voelker (1929-2018), a German writer and poet who was awarded the prestigious Georg Büchner Prize in 1991.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Voelker

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

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

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

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