Wirth
A German masculine name derived from the word "worth", meaning value or dignity.
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Wirth. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wirth today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wirth births was 2019 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wirth. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wirth. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
2019
7 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,082
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Wirth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wirth from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 17 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wirth 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 Wirth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wirth
The given name Wirth originates from the Old High German language, which was spoken in southern Germany and parts of modern-day Austria and Switzerland between the 6th and 11th centuries. It is derived from the word "wirt," meaning "host" or "innkeeper." The name likely emerged during this period and was initially used to refer to someone who owned or managed an inn or tavern.
In medieval times, inns and taverns played a crucial role in providing lodging and refreshments for travelers, making the name Wirth a respected one associated with hospitality and a welcoming spirit. As the name spread across different regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Werth, Wert, and Weerde.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wirth can be found in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Galli, a 9th-century manuscript from the Abbey of St. Gall in modern-day Switzerland. This document mentions a person named Wirth as a witness to a land transaction.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Wirth. One of the earliest was Wirth von Grüningen (c. 1230-1298), a Swiss knight and military commander who fought in the Battle of Morgarten against the Habsburgs in 1315. Another prominent figure was Erasmus Wirth (1551-1620), a German mathematician and astronomer who contributed to the development of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 19th century, Wirth became a more common name, particularly in Germany and Switzerland. One notable bearer was Max Wirth (1822-1900), a German artist and illustrator known for his depictions of fairy tales and folklore. Another was Jakob Wirth (1839-1907), a Swiss entrepreneur who founded the famous Wirth's Bräu brewery and beer hall in Munich, which remains a popular destination to this day.
In the 20th century, the name gained further recognition with individuals like Christian Wirth (1885-1944), a German Nazi official who played a significant role in the organization of the Holocaust. On a more positive note, Oskar Wirth (1913-2005) was a German-born American artist and illustrator renowned for his work in children's books and magazine illustrations.
Other notable individuals with the name Wirth include Hermann Wirth (1879-1956), a controversial Dutch-German scholar known for his nationalist and anti-Semitic views on ancient history, and Günther Wirth (1929-2010), a German physicist and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of computer graphics and visualization.
People
Wirth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wirth 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
Wirth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wirth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wirth 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Wirth a common name?
We classify Wirth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wirth most popular?
The single biggest year for Wirth was 2019, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wirth is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Wirth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wirth a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wirth 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 Wirth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wirth 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 Wirth 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Wirth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.