The Backes surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,421 people carried this name — #12,745 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 122,000 people counted. That is down 1% from 2,438 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Backes surname
From contraction of Backhaus (“bakery”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Backes» (German), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 231 people named Backes.
23 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 185 people named Backes live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 135 people named Backes live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Misiones.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
51 people named Backes live in Switzerland.
They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In print
Backes in American newspapers,
1892–1962.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 13,833,093 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Backes,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Karl Backes 1837–1909 · teacher -
Lutz Backes 1938– · photographer -
Wieland Backes 1946– · chemistry -
Paulo Backes 1962– · photographer -
Elke Backes 1967– · journalist -
Klara Backes 1847–1912 · Christian nun
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 79 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Backes.
- Bachini 154 · U.S. census
- Bachler 490 · U.S. census
- Bachmann 4,372 · U.S. census
- Back 8,762 · U.S. census
- Backer 3,380 · U.S. census
- Backert 148 · U.S. census
- Bacle 108 · U.S. census
- Baco 149 · U.S. census
- Bacon 29,860 · U.S. census
- Bacot 519 · U.S. census
- Bacque 136 · U.S. census
- Bacus 642 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Backes is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.