Wetzel
A Middle German name derived from the word "wetzel" meaning weasel.
Name Census estimates that about 71 living Americans carry the first name Wetzel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wetzel today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wetzel births was 1928 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wetzel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Wetzel is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Wetzels were born before 1961.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wetzel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
71
~ 1 in 4,827,526 Americans
Peak year
1928
11 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1965 SSA rank
#4,418
Tracked since 1916
Census
Wetzel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 123 people with the first name Wetzel, which placed it at #49,809 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#49,809
National first-name rank
People counted
123
123 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wetzel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wetzel is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Wetzel 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Wetzel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 107
- Black or African American5.7% · 7
- Two or more races4.1% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Popularity
Wetzel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wetzel from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 52 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Wetzel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wetzel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Wetzel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Wetzels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wetzel
The given name Wetzel traces its origins to the Germanic languages, specifically from the Old High German name Wetzilo. This name is derived from the combination of the elements "wetti," meaning "pledge" or "vow," and the diminutive suffix "-ilo." Wetzel was primarily used in regions where Germanic dialects were spoken, including parts of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wetzel appears in the 9th century Codex Laureshamensis, a medieval manuscript from the Lorsch Abbey in present-day Germany. This document mentions a monk named Wetzilo, demonstrating the use of the name during the Carolingian period.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Wetzel von Giessen, born around 1120, was a prominent nobleman and military leader from the region of Giessen in modern-day Germany. He played a significant role in the conflicts between the Holy Roman Empire and the Guelphs during the reign of Frederick Barbarossa.
Another historical figure bearing the name Wetzel was Wetzel Prager, born in the late 15th century. He was a renowned German architect and sculptor who contributed to the construction of several notable buildings, including the Frauenkirche in Dresden.
In the 16th century, Wetzel Heyntzenberger, born around 1510, was a German painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraits. He was active in the city of Augsburg and helped establish the Augsburg School of painting.
Wetzel Bütner, born in 1608, was a German composer and organist during the Baroque period. He served as the court organist in Weimar and is credited with contributing to the development of the organ chorale and instrumental music in Germany.
While the name Wetzel has historical roots in the Germanic regions, its usage has spread to other parts of the world over time. However, it is important to note that this report focuses solely on the given name Wetzel and does not include any information about its use as a surname or family name.
People
Wetzel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wetzel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wetzel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wetzel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 71 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wetzel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,827,526 US residents.
Is Wetzel a common name?
We classify Wetzel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 181 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wetzel most popular?
The single biggest year for Wetzel was 1928, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wetzel is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Wetzel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 123 people with the name Wetzel, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #49,809 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Wetzel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Wetzel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Wetzel appears almost entirely male. Of the 120 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Wetzel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Wetzel is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Wetzel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Wetzel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (107 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Wetzel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wetzel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wetzel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Wetzel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wetzel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Wetzel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Wetzel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Wetzel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.