2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Spinnenweber
A German occupational surname referring to a spider web weaver or silk spinner.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Spinnenweber. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Spinnenweber 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Spinnenweber in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Spinnenweber, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Spinnenweber
The surname SPINNENWEBER is of German origin, derived from the Old German words "spinnen" meaning "to spin" and "weber" meaning "weaver". It originated in the 14th century as an occupational surname for individuals who were involved in the spinning and weaving of textiles, particularly silk and wool.
The name is believed to have first appeared in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where the textile industry flourished during the Middle Ages. The earliest recorded reference to the name SPINNENWEBER can be found in a registry from the city of Nuremberg in 1382, where a certain Johannes Spinnenweber was listed as a master weaver.
In the 15th century, the name SPINNENWEBER appeared in the records of the city of Leipzig, where a family of weavers bearing this surname established a successful textile business. One notable member of this family was Hans SPINNENWEBER, born in 1455, who was renowned for his intricate tapestries and served as a court weaver for the Duke of Saxony.
During the 16th century, the SPINNENWEBER name spread across various regions of Germany, with many families settling in cities known for their textile industries, such as Augsburg, Cologne, and Frankfurt. One prominent figure from this era was Jakob SPINNENWEBER (1512-1578), a master weaver from Augsburg who was commissioned to create tapestries for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
In the 17th century, the SPINNENWEBER name found its way to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Switzerland, as skilled weavers from Germany sought employment opportunities in these regions. A notable example is Peter SPINNENWEBER (1626-1691), a Swiss weaver who established a successful silk workshop in the city of Zurich.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the SPINNENWEBER name continued to be associated with the textile industry, with families bearing this surname contributing to the development of new weaving techniques and technologies. One notable figure from this period was Johann SPINNENWEBER (1785-1854), a German textile engineer who invented an improved version of the Jacquard loom, which revolutionized the weaving process.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Spinnenweber
Among Census respondents with the surname Spinnenweber, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Spinnenweber 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 Spinnenweber surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 119
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Spinnenweber
Spinnenweber 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,830 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-3 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,600 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 6,830 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 5,600 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 Spinnenweber 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 | #136,449 | #142,049 | -4.1% |
| Count | 123 | 120 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Spinnenweber bearers went from 123 to 120 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 5,600 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #142,049.
FAQ
Spinnenweber surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Spinnenweber?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Spinnenweber. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Spinnenweber?
Spinnenweber ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Spinnenweber. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Spinnenweber.
Has Spinnenweber become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Spinnenweber went from 123 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Spinnenweber?
Among Census respondents with the surname Spinnenweber, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Spinnenweber in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (119 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Spinnenweber appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Spinnenweber (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 Spinnenweber mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a spider web weaver or silk spinner. 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 Spinnenweber (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 Americans have the surname Spinnenweber?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.