2000
#3,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,628
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.20
Rare Last name
Volk
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname meaning "people" or referring to someone from a place called Volk.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,725 Americans carry the last name Volk. That puts it at #4,060 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,245 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Volk 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
9.7K
1 in 35,245
Census rank
#4,060
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,481 bearers of the surname Volk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4060th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Volk, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Volk
The surname Volk is of German and Dutch origin, derived from the German and Dutch word "volk" meaning "people" or "folk." The name likely originated as a descriptive surname referring to someone who was associated with the common people or was a representative of the people.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Volk date back to the 13th century in various regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands. It was particularly prevalent in areas like Saxony, Hesse, and the Rhineland.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Volk was Heinrich Volk, a merchant from Lübeck, Germany, who lived in the late 13th century. Another early record is from the city of Nuremberg in 1305, mentioning a person named Konrad Volk.
In the Netherlands, the surname can be traced back to the 14th century with records from places like Utrecht and Amsterdam. A notable bearer of the name was Pieter Volk, a prominent merchant from Amsterdam who lived in the late 15th century.
Throughout history, the surname Volk has been associated with various professions and social classes. In addition to merchants, it was borne by farmers, artisans, and even members of the nobility. One example is Johannes Volk, a German noble who lived in the 16th century and owned lands in the region of Saxony.
Another notable individual with the surname Volk was Christian Volk, a German composer and organist who lived from 1597 to 1661. He was known for his contributions to the development of the Protestant church music during the Baroque period.
In the 19th century, the surname Volk was also carried by several scholars and intellectuals, such as the German philologist and folklorist Johann Wilhelm Volk (1798-1868), who made significant contributions to the study of German folk literature and culture.
While the surname Volk has its roots in Germany and the Netherlands, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and immigration. However, the name's origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the Germanic cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Volk
Among Census respondents with the surname Volk, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Volk 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 Volk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 7,927
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 235
- Two or more races2.5% · 213
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 52
- Black or African American0.4% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Volk
Volk 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
#3,888
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,126
+498 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 3.09
Rank movement Down 116 places
2020
#4,060
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,481
-645 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 2.84
Rank movement Down 172 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,772 | 8,628 | 3.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,888 | 9,126 | 3.09 | +498 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 116 places |
| 2020 | #4,060 | 8,481 | 2.84 | -645 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 172 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 Volk 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 | #3,888 | #4,060 | -4.4% |
| Count | 9,126 | 8,481 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.09 | 2.84 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Volk bearers went from 9,126 to 8,481 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 172 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,888 to #4,060.
FAQ
Volk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Volk?
Name Census estimates that about 9,725 living Americans carry the surname Volk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,245 residents.
How common is Volk?
Volk ranks #4,060 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,481 people with the surname Volk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,725), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Volk.
Has Volk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Volk went from 9,126 recorded bearers to 8,481. That is a decrease of 645 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,888 to #4,060.
What does the Census say about the background of Volk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Volk, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Volk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (7,927 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Volk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Volk (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 Volk mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname meaning "people" or referring to someone from a place called Volk. 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 Volk (2.84 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 Americans have the surname Volk?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.