2000
#6,569
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,758
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.76
Rare Last name
Voelker
An occupational surname referring to a bird catcher or fowler, derived from the German word "Vogel" meaning bird.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,168 Americans carry the last name Voelker. That puts it at #7,141 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 66,322 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Voelker 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
5.2K
1 in 66,322
Census rank
#7,141
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,507 bearers of the surname Voelker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7141st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Voelker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Voelker
Among Census respondents with the surname Voelker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Voelker 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 Voelker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 4,216
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 129
- Two or more races2.2% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 15
- Black or African American0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Voelker
Voelker 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
#7,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,735
-23 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 1.61
Rank movement Down 500 places
2020
#7,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,507
-228 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.51
Rank movement Down 72 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,569 | 4,758 | 1.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,069 | 4,735 | 1.61 | -23 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 500 places |
| 2020 | #7,141 | 4,507 | 1.51 | -228 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 72 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 Voelker 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 | #7,069 | #7,141 | -1.0% |
| Count | 4,735 | 4,507 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.61 | 1.51 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Voelker bearers went from 4,735 to 4,507 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 72 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,069 to #7,141.
FAQ
Voelker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Voelker?
Name Census estimates that about 5,168 living Americans carry the surname Voelker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 66,322 residents.
How common is Voelker?
Voelker ranks #7,141 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,507 people with the surname Voelker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,168), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Voelker.
Has Voelker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Voelker went from 4,735 recorded bearers to 4,507. That is a decrease of 228 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,069 to #7,141.
What does the Census say about the background of Voelker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Voelker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Voelker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (4,216 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Voelker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Voelker (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 Voelker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a bird catcher or fowler, derived from the German word "Vogel" meaning bird. 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 Voelker (1.51 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 many people share the surname Voelker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.