Lemke
A North German and Dutch-style diminutive surname, often from a personal name beginning with Lam- or possibly from a related nickname form.
The #3,406 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,402 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Lemke is generally understood as a diminutive surname built with the North German/Low German ending -ke, a common nickname-forming suffix. The historical material here suggests it belongs with names such as Lembke, Lemke, and Lemkes and is usually explained as derived from a short personal name of the Lam-/Lemb- type, though the exact base name is not always spelled out in the older sources. In practice, it is safest to treat Lemke as a diminutive patronymic or nickname surname from a given name rather than as a topographic or occupational name.
History
Older scholarship places this type of surname especially in the German-speaking north and notes its strong connection with Low German naming patterns. The name is also found in Dutch and Frisian contexts, where similar diminutive forms occur. In modern usage, Lemke is well established in Germany and in emigrant communities abroad, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The suffix -ke is one of the classic clues that a surname may come from a northern German diminutive nickname form.
From the historical record
“Familienname erhalten. Dazu treten die Verkleinerungen auf -ke (Lüdickey Lemke, Wilke, Jahnke), welche hier so recht ihre Heimat und Geburtsstätte haben. Doch überwiegt das Niederdeutsche hier im Osten, von Holstein und Mecklenburg abgesehen, nicht so wie im Westen. Es ist gerade in den Namen nicht mit solcher…”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen