Explore the Family Name Nelkin

The meaning of Nelkin

Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant of Nelken, an artificial name from German Nelken ‘cloves, carnation’, formed with the Slavic possesive suffix -in in place of the original ending. Some characteristic forenames: Jewish Meyer, Dov.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Nelkin in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Nelkin has slightly increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Nelkin was ranked as the 81,100th most common last name in the United States, with 217 individuals bearing this surname. By 2010, it had risen to become the 80,131st most popular surname, with a count of 237 people, marking a growth rate of approximately 1.19%. Despite this increase in absolute numbers, the proportion of individuals with the Nelkin surname remained constant at 0.08 per 100,000 population in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#81,100	#80,131	1.19%
Count	217	237	9.22%
Proportion per 100k	0.08	0.08	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nelkin

Regarding the ethnic identity associated with the Nelkin surname, data from the Decennial U.S. Census indicates that it is predominantly linked with the White demographic. In 2000, about 94.01% of individuals bearing the Nelkin surname identified as White, a figure which rose to 97.89% by 2010. The census data also recorded a small percentage of Nelkins who identified with two or more races in 2000, but this figure dropped to zero in 2010. Similarly, a marginal number of Nelkins identified as Hispanic in 2000, but this too fell to zero in 2010. No Nelkins identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.01%	97.89%	4.13%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	3.69%	0%	0%
Hispanic	2.3%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%