2000
#92,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 185
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Waggner
An occupational surname for one who made or drove wagons.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 210 Americans carry the last name Waggner. That puts it at #104,276 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,632,164 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waggner 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
210
1 in 1,632,164
Census rank
#104,276
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
183
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 183 bearers of the surname Waggner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 104276th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waggner, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waggner
The surname WAGGNER originated in Germany and can be traced back to the early medieval period. It derived from the Old High German word "wagno," which referred to a maker or builder of wagons, carts, or other wheeled vehicles. This occupational name would have initially referred to someone who worked as a wagon maker or wheelwright.
Early variations of the spelling included Wagener, Waganer, and Wagnere. The surname likely emerged in the 12th or 13th century as occupational surnames became more common across Europe. While the name does not appear in the Domesday Book, which focused on England, it may be found in other early German records and manuscripts from that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the WAGGNER surname dates back to 1285, when a Hermannus Wagener was mentioned in official records from the city of Cologne. Another early example is Johannes Wagener, who lived in Heidelberg in the late 14th century and was listed in city records from 1385.
In the 15th century, a notable individual with this surname was Hans Waggner, a master wagon builder from Nuremberg who was renowned for his craftsmanship. He lived from around 1420 to 1489 and his workshop produced high-quality wagons and carts for the wealthy merchants and nobility of the region.
During the 16th century, the WAGGNER name appeared in various parts of Germany, including the regions of Bavaria, Saxony, and Brandenburg. One prominent figure was Georg Waggner, a Protestant reformer and theologian from Wittenberg who lived from 1501 to 1577. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a significant role in the early years of the Protestant Reformation.
Another individual of note was Matthias Waggner, a German architect and builder who was active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was responsible for the construction of several important buildings in the city of Dresden, including the famous Zwinger Palace, which he began work on in 1711 and continued until his death in 1719 at the age of 68.
In the 18th century, Johann Michael Waggner, born in 1707 in Nuremberg, was a renowned clockmaker and inventor. He is credited with developing one of the earliest self-winding clock mechanisms, which revolutionized the design and functionality of clocks at the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waggner
Among Census respondents with the surname Waggner, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Waggner 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 Waggner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.6% · 142
- Black or African American12.0% · 22
- Two or more races4.9% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waggner
Waggner 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
#88,020
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 211
+26 bearers (+14.1%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 4,197 places
2020
#104,276
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 183
-28 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 16,256 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #92,217 | 185 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #88,020 | 211 | 0.07 | +26 bearers (+14.1%) | Up 4,197 places |
| 2020 | #104,276 | 183 | 0.06 | -28 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 16,256 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 Waggner 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 | #88,020 | #104,276 | -18.5% |
| Count | 211 | 183 | -13.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.06 | -12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waggner bearers went from 211 to 183 (-13.3% change). The surname moved down 16,256 positions in the national ranking, going from #88,020 to #104,276.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Waggner
FAQ
Waggner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waggner?
Name Census estimates that about 210 living Americans carry the surname Waggner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,632,164 residents.
How common is Waggner?
Waggner ranks #104,276 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 183 people with the surname Waggner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (210), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Waggner.
Has Waggner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waggner went from 211 recorded bearers to 183. That is a decrease of 28 (-13.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #88,020 to #104,276.
What does the Census say about the background of Waggner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waggner, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (12.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Waggner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.6% (142 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waggner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.6%), Black (12.0%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Waggner (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 Waggner mean?
An occupational surname for one who made or drove wagons. 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 Waggner (0.06 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 Waggner?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Waggner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.