2000
#8,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,818
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.42
Rare Last name
Zucker
A German occupational surname referring to a sugar producer, confectioner, or candy maker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,158 Americans carry the last name Zucker. That puts it at #8,686 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,433 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zucker 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 Zucker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 82,433
Census rank
#8,686
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,626 bearers of the surname Zucker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8686th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zucker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zucker
The surname Zucker has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the late 16th century. The name is derived from the German word "Zucker," which means "sugar." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who worked in the sugar trade or perhaps lived near a sugar refinery.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Zucker can be found in the town records of Cologne, Germany, from the year 1592. The entry lists a Johannes Zucker as a resident of the city. In the centuries that followed, the name began to spread throughout other regions of Germany and into neighboring countries.
In the 17th century, the Zucker name appears in various church records and legal documents across Germany. For example, a Johann Zucker is listed as a landowner in the village of Kirchheim, near Stuttgart, in 1634. Around the same time, a Magdalena Zucker is recorded as a resident of the city of Nuremberg in 1639.
As the name spread, it also underwent slight variations in spelling, such as Zuckermann and Zuckerle. These versions likely emerged as a way to distinguish different family branches or to reflect local dialect variations.
One notable individual with the Zucker surname was Johann Zucker (1760-1838), a German philosopher and professor at the University of Heidelberg. He was known for his work on ethics and moral philosophy. Another noteworthy figure was Friedrich Zucker (1881-1973), a German-born American engineer who played a crucial role in the development of early television technology.
Other individuals with the Zucker surname include Adolph Zucker (1856-1920), a prominent German-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the I. Zucker & Co. sugar refinery in New York City, and David Zucker (born 1947), an American filmmaker known for directing comedies such as Airplane! and The Naked Gun series.
While the Zucker name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant German immigration, such as the United States and Canada.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zucker
Among Census respondents with the surname Zucker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Zucker 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 Zucker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 3,375
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 94
- Two or more races2.2% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 41
- Black or African American0.9% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zucker
Zucker 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
#8,626
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,813
-5 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 615 places
2020
#8,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,626
-187 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 60 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,011 | 3,818 | 1.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,626 | 3,813 | 1.29 | -5 bearers (-0.1%) | Down 615 places |
| 2020 | #8,686 | 3,626 | 1.21 | -187 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 60 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 Zucker 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 | #8,626 | #8,686 | -0.7% |
| Count | 3,813 | 3,626 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.29 | 1.21 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zucker bearers went from 3,813 to 3,626 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 60 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,626 to #8,686.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Zucker
FAQ
Zucker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zucker?
Name Census estimates that about 4,158 living Americans carry the surname Zucker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,433 residents.
How common is Zucker?
Zucker ranks #8,686 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 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 3,626 people with the surname Zucker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,158), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 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 Zucker.
Has Zucker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zucker went from 3,813 recorded bearers to 3,626. That is a decrease of 187 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,626 to #8,686.
What does the Census say about the background of Zucker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zucker, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Zucker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (3,375 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zucker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Zucker (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 Zucker mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a sugar producer, confectioner, or candy maker. 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 Zucker (1.21 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 Zucker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.