2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Waldburg
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Waldburg, likely meaning "forest castle".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Waldburg. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Waldburg 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Waldburg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldburg, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and White (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Waldburg
The surname Waldburg originated in Germany, likely in the 11th or 12th century. It is derived from the German words "wald" meaning "forest" and "burg" meaning "castle" or "fortified town". This suggests the name may have been associated with a family who lived in or near a fortified town located in a forested area.
The earliest known references to the name Waldburg can be found in medieval records and documents from the regions of Swabia and Bavaria in southern Germany. The name is closely linked to the noble House of Waldburg, a prominent German dynasty that ruled over territories in these regions from the 12th century onwards.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Hirsaugiensis, a manuscript from the Hirsau Abbey in the Black Forest, dating back to around 1120. The document mentions a "Rudolfus de Waltpurg" who was a count and vassal of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 13th century, the Waldburg family constructed the Waldburg Castle near the town of Ravensburg in Upper Swabia. This castle became the family's ancestral seat and was a center of their power and influence in the region. The name Waldburg is closely associated with this castle and the surrounding areas.
Notable individuals with the surname Waldburg include Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg (1547-1601), a prominent figure in the Counter-Reformation who served as the Prince-Archbishop of Cologne. Another notable bearer was Maximilian Wunibald von Waldburg (1604-1667), a military leader and Field Marshal in the Thirty Years' War.
Other historical figures with the Waldburg name include Johann Truchsess von Waldburg (1543-1627), a Catholic cardinal and Prince-Bishop of Constance, and Franz Konrad von Waldburg (1661-1717), a Baroque architect and military engineer who designed several fortifications and buildings in southern Germany.
The name Waldburg has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout Germany, such as the town of Waldburg in Baden-Württemberg and the Waldburg range of hills in Bavaria.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Waldburg
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldburg, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and White (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Waldburg 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 Waldburg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.5% · 92
- Two or more races7.7% · 8
- White2.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Waldburg
Waldburg 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
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-4 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,058 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 2,058 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 Waldburg 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 | #151,532 | #153,590 | -1.4% |
| Count | 108 | 104 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Waldburg bearers went from 108 to 104 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 2,058 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #153,590.
FAQ
Waldburg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Waldburg?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Waldburg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Waldburg?
Waldburg ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Waldburg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Waldburg.
Has Waldburg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Waldburg went from 108 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Waldburg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Waldburg, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.7%) and White (2.9%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Waldburg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Waldburg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (88.5%), Two or More Races (7.7%), White (2.9%). 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 Waldburg (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 Waldburg mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Waldburg, likely meaning "forest castle". 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 Waldburg (0.03 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 share the surname Waldburg?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.