2000
#15,699
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,709
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Munk
A nickname-derived surname for a monk or someone resembling a monk in appearance or behavior.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,077 Americans carry the last name Munk. That puts it at #15,545 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,024 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Munk 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 Munk with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 165,024
Census rank
#15,545
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,811 bearers of the surname Munk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15545th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Munk, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Munk
The surname Munk has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon culture and language of medieval England. It is derived from the Old English word "munuc", which means "monk" or "religious recluse". The name likely referred to someone who lived like a monk or was associated with a monastery.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landholders across England compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are several entries for individuals with the surname Munk or similar spellings like Munc or Munck. One notable entry is for a landowner named Godric Munc in Wiltshire.
By the 13th century, the name had spread across various regions of England, appearing in records from counties like Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. The earliest recorded instance of the surname dates back to 1273 in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, which mentions a William le Munk.
Over time, the name evolved into different spellings such as Munke, Monk, and Monck. One of the earliest examples of the Monck spelling can be found in the records of the Monastic Borough of Battel in Sussex, where a Robert Monck was listed as a landowner in 1327.
Several notable individuals bearing the surname Munk or its variants have left their mark throughout history. These include Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle (1652-1688), a prominent English soldier and statesman; George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608-1670), an influential military leader during the English Civil War; and William le Moyne de Munk (1292-1359), a renowned English knight and landowner.
Other historical figures include Hans Munk (1598-1628), a Danish explorer and navigator who led an ill-fated expedition to the Northwest Passage, and Salomon Munk (1805-1867), a Polish-German Orientalist and scholar renowned for his work on Hebrew literature and philosophy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Munk
Among Census respondents with the surname Munk, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Munk 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 Munk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 1,675
- Two or more races3.1% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 44
- Black or African American0.9% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Munk
Munk 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
#15,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,938
+229 bearers (+13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 498 places
2020
#15,545
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,811
-127 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 344 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,699 | 1,709 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,201 | 1,938 | 0.66 | +229 bearers (+13.4%) | Up 498 places |
| 2020 | #15,545 | 1,811 | 0.61 | -127 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 344 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 Munk 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 | #15,201 | #15,545 | -2.3% |
| Count | 1,938 | 1,811 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.61 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Munk bearers went from 1,938 to 1,811 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 344 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,201 to #15,545.
FAQ
Munk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Munk?
Name Census estimates that about 2,077 living Americans carry the surname Munk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,024 residents.
How common is Munk?
Munk ranks #15,545 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,811 people with the surname Munk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,077), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Munk.
Has Munk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Munk went from 1,938 recorded bearers to 1,811. That is a decrease of 127 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,201 to #15,545.
What does the Census say about the background of Munk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Munk, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Munk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (1,675 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Munk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Munk (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 Munk mean?
A nickname-derived surname for a monk or someone resembling a monk in appearance or behavior. 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 Munk (0.61 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 last name Munk?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Munk on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.