2000
#7,941
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,864
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.43
Rare Last name
Wacker
An occupational surname referring to a fuller or cleaner of cloth, derived from the German word "wacken" meaning "to full."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,425 Americans carry the last name Wacker. That puts it at #8,217 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,459 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wacker 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wacker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 77,459
Census rank
#8,217
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,859 bearers of the surname Wacker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8217th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wacker, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wacker
The surname WACKER is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German word "wacker" meaning "watchful" or "vigilant." It is believed to have originated as an occupational name for a watchman or guard.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the WACKER surname can be found in the town of Nuremberg, Germany, in the 14th century. A man named Henne Wacker was mentioned in a document from 1348, indicating that the name was already in use at that time.
In the 15th century, the WACKER surname appeared in various records throughout southern Germany, particularly in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia. For example, a Hans Wacker was documented in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1492.
The WACKER surname has also been associated with certain place names in Germany, such as the town of Wackersdorf in Bavaria. It is possible that some individuals with the surname may have taken their name from these locations or vice versa.
One notable individual with the WACKER surname was Johann Wacker, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1550 to 1619. His works can be found in various churches and museums throughout Germany.
Another prominent figure was Georg Wacker, a German theologian and philosopher who was born in 1632 and died in 1683. He was known for his works on theology and ethics, and served as a professor at the University of Jena.
In the 18th century, Johann Georg Wacker, born in 1746 and died in 1819, was a German composer and organist who contributed to the development of church music during that period.
The WACKER surname also gained recognition in the 19th century with Carl Wacker, a German industrialist who founded the Wacker Chemie AG company in 1914, which is still a major player in the chemical industry today.
Lastly, a more recent historical figure was Theodor Wacker, a German politician and lawyer who lived from 1845 to 1925. He served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) and was involved in various legal and political reforms.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wacker
Among Census respondents with the surname Wacker, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Wacker 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 Wacker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 3,468
- Two or more races3.1% · 120
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 105
- Black or African American2.6% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wacker
Wacker 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
#7,356
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,530
+666 bearers (+17.2%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Up 585 places
2020
#8,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,859
-671 bearers (-14.8%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 861 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,941 | 3,864 | 1.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,356 | 4,530 | 1.54 | +666 bearers (+17.2%) | Up 585 places |
| 2020 | #8,217 | 3,859 | 1.29 | -671 bearers (-14.8%) | Down 861 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 Wacker 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 | #7,356 | #8,217 | -11.7% |
| Count | 4,530 | 3,859 | -14.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.54 | 1.29 | -16.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wacker bearers went from 4,530 to 3,859 (-14.8% change). The surname moved down 861 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,356 to #8,217.
FAQ
Wacker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wacker?
Name Census estimates that about 4,425 living Americans carry the surname Wacker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,459 residents.
How common is Wacker?
Wacker ranks #8,217 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.29 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 3,859 people with the surname Wacker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,425), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.29 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 Wacker.
Has Wacker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wacker went from 4,530 recorded bearers to 3,859. That is a decrease of 671 (-14.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,356 to #8,217.
What does the Census say about the background of Wacker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wacker, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) 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 Wacker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (3,468 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wacker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (3.1%), 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 Wacker (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 Wacker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a fuller or cleaner of cloth, derived from the German word "wacken" meaning "to full." 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 Wacker (1.29 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 Wacker?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Wacker, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.