Explore the Family Name Schwake

The meaning of Schwake

North German: status name for someone of low social standing or inadequate means, from Middle Low German swak ‘poor, humble’. Some characteristic forenames: German Dieter, Lorenz.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Schwake has seen a slight decrease in popularity over the past decade. In 2000, Schwake was ranked as the 43,708th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had dropped slightly to the 44,356th spot, a change of -1.48%. However, the number of people with the Schwake surname increased from 465 in 2000 to 485 in 2010, a growth rate of 4.3%. Despite this increase in count, its proportion per 100k people fell by 5.88%, indicating that while the surname has grown in population, it hasn't kept pace with overall population growth.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#43,708	#44,356	-1.48%
Count	465	485	4.3%
Proportion per 100k	0.17	0.16	-5.88%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Schwake

In terms of ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the majority of individuals with the Schwake surname identify as White. In 2000, 97.2% identified as White, though this percentage decreased to 94.85% by 2010. The representation of Hispanic individuals within this surname group saw an increase of 50.33%, going from 1.51% in 2000 to 2.27% in 2010. There was also a small increase in those identifying with two or more races, rising from 1.08% to 1.24%. For Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities, there were no changes recorded, with either 0% representation or suppressed data for privacy reasons.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.2%	94.85%	-2.42%
Hispanic	1.51%	2.27%	50.33%
Two or More Races	1.08%	1.24%	14.81%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%