2000
#4,191
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,841
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.91
Rare Last name
Wilke
Derived from a short form of Germanic names beginning with "Wil-," meaning "will, desire."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,406 Americans carry the last name Wilke. That puts it at #4,693 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,775 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wilke 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wilke with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.4K
1 in 40,775
Census rank
#4,693
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,330 bearers of the surname Wilke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4693rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilke, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wilke
The surname Wilke is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "willio," meaning "will" or "desire." This name first appeared in the 12th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around modern-day Bavaria and Saxony.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilke can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in a document from 1256, referring to a landowner named Wilke von Schönburg.
In the 14th century, the name Wilke was also documented in the Altenburg Manuscripts, a compilation of records from the city of Altenburg in modern-day Thuringia, Germany. These manuscripts mention a merchant named Wilke Hausmann, who lived in Altenburg during the late 1300s.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure with the surname Wilke was Johannes Wilke, a German humanist scholar and philosopher born in 1483 in Nuremberg. He was known for his works on theology and his contributions to the intellectual discourse of the time.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Wilhelm Wilke, a German painter and engraver born in 1603 in Dresden. His works, which included portraits and religious scenes, were highly regarded during the Baroque period and can still be found in various museums and collections across Europe.
In the 19th century, a famous bearer of the Wilke surname was Carl Wilke, a German explorer and naturalist born in 1825. He is renowned for his expeditions to South America, where he documented numerous plant and animal species, contributing significantly to the field of natural history.
Other notable individuals with the surname Wilke include Johann Wilke, a German composer and organist born in 1594, and Friedrich Wilke, a German writer and journalist who lived from 1777 to 1854 and was known for his contributions to the development of German literature and journalism.
While the surname Wilke originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, where it was brought by German immigrants. However, the earliest recorded instances and historical references to the name can be traced back to its German roots and the various regions within Germany where it first emerged and was documented.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilke
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilke, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Wilke 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 Wilke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 6,693
- Two or more races3.6% · 267
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 206
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 52
- Black or African American0.7% · 51
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wilke
Wilke 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
#4,386
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,106
+265 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 2.75
Rank movement Down 195 places
2020
#4,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,330
-776 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 2.45
Rank movement Down 307 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,191 | 7,841 | 2.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,386 | 8,106 | 2.75 | +265 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 195 places |
| 2020 | #4,693 | 7,330 | 2.45 | -776 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 307 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 Wilke 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 | #4,386 | #4,693 | -7.0% |
| Count | 8,106 | 7,330 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.75 | 2.45 | -10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wilke bearers went from 8,106 to 7,330 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 307 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,386 to #4,693.
FAQ
Wilke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wilke?
Name Census estimates that about 8,406 living Americans carry the surname Wilke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,775 residents.
How common is Wilke?
Wilke ranks #4,693 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.45 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 7,330 people with the surname Wilke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,406), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.45 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 Wilke.
Has Wilke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wilke went from 8,106 recorded bearers to 7,330. That is a decrease of 776 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,386 to #4,693.
What does the Census say about the background of Wilke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilke, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Wilke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (6,693 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wilke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Wilke (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 Wilke mean?
Derived from a short form of Germanic names beginning with "Wil-," meaning "will, desire." 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 Wilke (2.45 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 have the surname Wilke?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.