2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Waechtler
A German occupational surname referring to a watchman or guard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Waechtler. 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 Waechtler 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 Waechtler 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 Waechtler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waechtler
The surname Waechtler is of German origin, originating in the region of Bavaria in southern Germany. It likely dates back to the 16th or 17th century. The name is derived from the German word "Wächter," meaning "watchman" or "guard." It was likely an occupational surname given to someone who worked as a guard or watchman, perhaps for a town, castle, or other important location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Waechtler can be found in the church records of the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria, where a Johann Waechtler was listed as a resident in 1642. In the late 17th century, a Hans Waechtler was recorded as a landowner in the nearby town of Garmisch.
The name Waechtler appeared in various other historical records throughout the centuries. In 1751, a Georg Waechtler was listed as a member of the guild of tailors in the city of Augsburg. A Johann Michael Waechtler was a noted clockmaker in the town of Würzburg in the early 19th century, with several of his clocks still preserved in museums today.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Waechtler was Karl Waechtler, a German artist and illustrator born in 1819. He was renowned for his depictions of rural life and landscapes, and his works were exhibited in major galleries across Europe during his lifetime.
Another notable Waechtler was Friedrich Waechtler, a German botanist and explorer who lived from 1796 to 1868. He conducted extensive research on the flora of Brazil and published several books on the subject, including "Descriptions of the Plants of Brazil" in 1824.
In the 20th century, Hans Waechtler was a German politician and member of the Reichstag from 1930 to 1933, representing the Social Democratic Party. He was an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime and was briefly imprisoned in a concentration camp for his opposition to the regime.
While the name Waechtler has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, it remains most prevalent in its region of origin, particularly in southern Germany and neighboring areas of Austria and Switzerland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waechtler
Among Census respondents with the surname Waechtler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Waechtler 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 Waechtler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 106
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waechtler
Waechtler appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+12 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,491 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 12,491 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 Waechtler 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 | #159,712 | #147,221 | 7.8% |
| Count | 101 | 113 | 11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 26.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waechtler bearers went from 101 to 113 (+11.9% change). The surname moved up 12,491 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #147,221.
FAQ
Waechtler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waechtler?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Waechtler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Waechtler?
Waechtler 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 Waechtler. 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 Waechtler.
Has Waechtler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waechtler went from 101 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 12 (+11.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Waechtler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waechtler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) 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 Waechtler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waechtler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%), 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 Waechtler (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 Waechtler mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a watchman or guard. 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 Waechtler (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 are called Waechtler?
See how many people are called Waechtler on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.