2000
#12,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,359
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Greenwalt
A surname of German origin, meaning "green forest" or "one who lives near a green forest."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,541 Americans carry the last name Greenwalt. That puts it at #13,206 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,890 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Greenwalt 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.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 134,890
Census rank
#13,206
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,216 bearers of the surname Greenwalt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13206th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwalt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Greenwalt
The surname Greenwalt originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from a place name, likely referring to someone who lived near a green wooded area or forest. The prefix "Green" comes from the German word "grün," meaning green, and the suffix "walt" means forest or woods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Greenwalt can be found in the 14th century records of the town of Worms, located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. These records mention a family by the name of Grünwalt, which is an earlier spelling variation of the surname.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in various church records across German-speaking regions, including Bavaria and Saxony. During this time, the spelling variations included Grünwald, Grünwalde, and Grünwalt.
The first known person of historical significance with the surname Greenwalt was Hans Grünwalt, a German painter and sculptor who lived from circa 1475 to 1528. He was renowned for his altarpiece in the Basilica of St. Mary in Kraków, Poland, which is considered one of the greatest works of art from the late Gothic period.
Another notable figure with the Greenwalt surname was Johann Greenwalt, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1597 in Nuremberg. He made significant contributions to the development of logarithms and was one of the early adopters of the Copernican heliocentric model of the solar system.
In the 17th century, the name Greenwalt appeared in various German-speaking regions, including Switzerland and Austria. One prominent individual from this period was Christoph Greenwalt (1628-1688), a Swiss theologian and philosopher who played a crucial role in the development of Calvinism in Switzerland.
As German immigrants began settling in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname Greenwalt became more widely dispersed. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was Johann Greenwalt, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1730s.
Another notable American with the Greenwalt surname was William Greenwalt (1826-1901), a Union Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and later became a prominent lawyer and politician in Ohio.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Greenwalt
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwalt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Greenwalt 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 Greenwalt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 2,043
- Two or more races3.3% · 73
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Greenwalt
Greenwalt 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
#12,740
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,423
+64 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 613 places
2020
#13,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,216
-207 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 466 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,127 | 2,359 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,740 | 2,423 | 0.82 | +64 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 613 places |
| 2020 | #13,206 | 2,216 | 0.74 | -207 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 466 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 Greenwalt 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 | #12,740 | #13,206 | -3.7% |
| Count | 2,423 | 2,216 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.74 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Greenwalt bearers went from 2,423 to 2,216 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 466 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,740 to #13,206.
FAQ
Greenwalt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Greenwalt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,541 living Americans carry the surname Greenwalt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,890 residents.
How common is Greenwalt?
Greenwalt ranks #13,206 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,216 people with the surname Greenwalt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,541), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Greenwalt.
Has Greenwalt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Greenwalt went from 2,423 recorded bearers to 2,216. That is a decrease of 207 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,740 to #13,206.
What does the Census say about the background of Greenwalt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Greenwalt, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Greenwalt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (2,043 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Greenwalt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Greenwalt (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 Greenwalt mean?
A surname of German origin, meaning "green forest" or "one who lives near a green forest." 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 Greenwalt (0.74 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 common is the surname Greenwalt?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Greenwalt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.