2000
#152
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 154,516
First available Census row
Per 100,000 57.28
Common Last name
Wagner
A German occupational surname referring to a wagonmaker or cartwright.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 171,168 Americans carry the last name Wagner. That puts it at #181 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 49.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,002 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wagner 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 Wagner with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
171K
1 in 2,002
Census rank
#181
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
49.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
149K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 149,267 bearers of the surname Wagner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 49.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 181st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wagner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wagner
The surname WAGNER originated in Germany and is occupational in origin, derived from the Middle High German word "wagener" which means "wagonmaker" or "cartwright". It emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th century, when surnames were becoming more commonplace across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name WAGNER can be found in the Codex Falkensteinensis, a medieval manuscript from the 13th century, which lists a "Henricus Wagnere" among the residents of the town of Falkenstein in Bavaria. This suggests that the name was already well-established by that time in southern Germany.
The surname WAGNER is also documented in various town records and tax rolls from the 14th and 15th centuries in various parts of Germany, such as the Würzburg region of Bavaria and the Rhineland area. Variants of the spelling like "Wagener" and "Wagnär" were also common in different regions.
In the 16th century, the famous German composer and theorist Arnold von Bruck (1500-1554), who was also known as Arnoldus de Prucia or Arnold Wagner, helped to establish the surname's association with music and the arts.
Another notable bearer of the name was the German philosopher and writer Johann Jakob Wagner (1641-1695), who was a prominent figure in the early Enlightenment period.
During the 18th century, the WAGNER surname gained even greater prominence with the birth of the influential German philosopher and writer Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768), who is considered a pioneering figure in the study of art history and archaeology.
The 19th century saw the rise of the renowned German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883), whose operas and musical compositions cemented the WAGNER name's place in the annals of European cultural history.
Other notable individuals with the surname WAGNER include the German physicist Rudolf Wagner (1805-1864), who made significant contributions to the field of electromagnetism, and the American economist Adolf Wagner (1835-1917), who is known for his work on public finance and the development of the "law of increasing state activity".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wagner
Among Census respondents with the surname Wagner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Wagner 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 Wagner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 133,660
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 5,126
- Two or more races3.2% · 4,714
- Black or African American2.6% · 3,954
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,103
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 710
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wagner
Wagner 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
#173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 155,795
+1,279 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 52.82
Rank movement Down 21 places
2020
#181
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149,267
-6,528 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 49.94
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #152 | 154,516 | 57.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #173 | 155,795 | 52.82 | +1,279 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 21 places |
| 2020 | #181 | 149,267 | 49.94 | -6,528 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 8 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 Wagner 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 | #173 | #181 | -4.6% |
| Count | 155,795 | 149,267 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 52.82 | 49.94 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wagner bearers went from 155,795 to 149,267 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #173 to #181.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wagner
FAQ
Wagner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wagner?
Name Census estimates that about 171,168 living Americans carry the surname Wagner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,002 residents.
How common is Wagner?
Wagner ranks #181 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 49.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 50 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 149,267 people with the surname Wagner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (171,168), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 49.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 49.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 50 of them to have the surname Wagner.
Has Wagner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wagner went from 155,795 recorded bearers to 149,267. That is a decrease of 6,528 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #173 to #181.
What does the Census say about the background of Wagner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wagner, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Wagner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (133,660 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wagner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Wagner (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 Wagner mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a wagonmaker or cartwright. 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 Wagner (49.94 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 have the surname Wagner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.