2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Herweg
A toponymic surname derived from a place name referring to a roadway or path.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Herweg. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Herweg 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Herweg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Herweg, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Herweg
The surname Herweg is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old German words "here," meaning army, and "weg," meaning path or road, suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who traveled a specific route or path with an army or military group.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Herweg name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the 13th century, where a certain "Herwegus de Bremgarten" is mentioned. This indicates that the name was already in use during that time period, likely in the region of Bremgarten, which is located in present-day Switzerland.
In the 14th century, the Herweg name appeared in the Stadtbuch of Nuremberg, an important historical record that documented the city's citizens and their activities. This suggests that the name was also present in the southern German region during that era.
The earliest known bearer of the Herweg name was Heinrich Herweg, a merchant and trader who lived in the city of Cologne in the late 15th century. Records indicate that he was born around 1460 and was involved in the lucrative trade of goods between the German states and the Low Countries.
Another notable individual with the Herweg surname was Johannes Herweg, a Protestant reformer and theologian who lived in the 16th century. Born in Saxony around 1520, Herweg was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the spread of the Reformation movement throughout Germany.
In the 17th century, the Herweg name can be found in various records from the region of Hesse, where a family of that name owned a substantial estate and landholdings. One member of this family, Friedrich Herweg, born in 1632, was a prominent figure in local politics and served as a magistrate in the city of Kassel.
The 18th century saw the birth of Johann Herweg, a renowned German composer and organist who lived from 1720 to 1789. Herweg was widely celebrated for his church music compositions and served as the organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, a position he held for over four decades.
In the 19th century, the Herweg name gained further prominence with the birth of Karl Herweg, a German geographer and explorer who made significant contributions to the field of cartography. Born in 1826 in Baden, Herweg is best known for his expeditions and detailed maps of the Himalayan region, which were widely used by subsequent explorers and adventurers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herweg
Among Census respondents with the surname Herweg, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Herweg 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 Herweg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 11
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Herweg
Herweg 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+6 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,334 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-11 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,628 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 3,334 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 11,628 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 Herweg 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 | #135,593 | #147,221 | -8.6% |
| Count | 124 | 113 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Herweg bearers went from 124 to 113 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 11,628 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #147,221.
FAQ
Herweg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Herweg?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Herweg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Herweg?
Herweg ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Herweg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Herweg.
Has Herweg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Herweg went from 124 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Herweg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Herweg, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.7%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Herweg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Herweg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Hispanic (9.7%), Black (0.9%). 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 Herweg (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 Herweg mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a place name referring to a roadway or path. 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 Herweg (0.04 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 many people have the surname Herweg?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.