Find out how popular the last name Wacha is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wacha.
A Polish surname likely derived from a word meaning "watchman" or "guard".
Wacha, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wacha surname is from the 2010 census data.
Wacha is the 47186th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Wacha surname appeared 450 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Wacha.
We can also compare 2010 data for Wacha to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 47186 | 46153 | 2.21% |
Count | 450 | 435 | 3.39% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.15 | 0.16 | -6.45% |
The surname Wacha originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "wache," meaning "watchman" or "guard." This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone who worked as a guard or watchman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wacha can be found in the parish records of Saxony, Germany, from the late 1500s. The name was also prevalent in the regions of Silesia and Prussia during this time period.
In the 17th century, the name Wacha appeared in various German documents and manuscripts, including legal records and church registers. One notable example is Johann Wacha, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1592 to 1666.
As the name spread across Germany, it also evolved into different spellings and variations, such as Wache, Wachs, and Wachter. These variations often reflected regional dialects and preferences.
In the 18th century, the name Wacha began to appear in other parts of Europe, particularly in regions with significant German populations. One example is Johann Gottfried Wacha, a German-Polish composer and organist who lived from 1711 to 1786.
During the 19th century, the name Wacha gained prominence through several notable individuals. These include Karl Wacha, an Austrian politician and lawyer who lived from 1819 to 1892, and Gustav Wacha, a German painter and illustrator born in 1833.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous bearers of the name Wacha was Michael Wacha, an American professional baseball pitcher born in 1991. He has played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball.
Other notable individuals with the surname Wacha include John Wacha, an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1951, and Franz Wacha, an Austrian architect and urban planner who lived from 1923 to 2009.
While the surname Wacha originated in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including North America and other European countries, due to migration and immigration patterns.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wacha.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wacha was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 95.78% | 431 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | (S)% | (S) |
Hispanic Origin | 2.00% | 9 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wacha has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 95.78% | 97.47% | -1.75% |
Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Two or More Races | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
Hispanic | 2.00% | (S)% | (S)% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Wacha was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wacha, please contact us.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/wacha-surname-popularity/">Wacha last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Wacha last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on April 27, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/wacha-surname-popularity/.
"Wacha last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/wacha-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 April, 2025
Wacha last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/wacha-surname-popularity/.
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