2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Walheim
A German surname referring to one from the village or town of Wald.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Walheim. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walheim 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Walheim in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walheim, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walheim
The surname Walheim is of German origin, derived from the Old German words 'wald' meaning forest or woods, and 'heim' meaning home or settlement. The name likely originated in the forested areas of central or southern Germany during the Middle Ages.
Walheim was a common place name in medieval Germany, referring to settlements located in or near wooded regions. The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 13th century, appearing in various municipal records and local chronicles.
One notable early bearer of the name was Heinrich Walheim, a merchant from the town of Nuremberg who was mentioned in a trade document from 1342. Another early record is that of Konrad Walheim, a farmer from the village of Walheim near Stuttgart, whose name appears in a land deed from 1389.
In the 15th century, the name Walheim is found in the Württembergisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the region of Württemberg, where several individuals with this surname are listed as landowners and craftsmen.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Walheim surname spread to other parts of Germany, as well as neighboring countries like Switzerland and Austria. Johannes Walheim (1522-1584) was a renowned Lutheran theologian and rector of the University of Tübingen. Another notable figure was Hans Walheim (1601-1674), a skilled clockmaker from the town of Augsburg.
In the 18th century, the Walheim name gained some prominence in the arts, with Johann Georg Walheim (1736-1801) being a respected painter and member of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. His contemporary, Johann Friedrich Walheim (1744-1812), was a renowned composer and organist who served at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg.
As people with the Walheim surname migrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas, the name underwent some variations in spelling, such as Walheim, Walheimer, and Walheym. However, the meaning and origin remained rooted in the German words for forest and settlement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walheim
Among Census respondents with the surname Walheim, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Walheim 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 Walheim surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.4% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walheim
Walheim 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+6 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,392 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-8 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,786 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 3,392 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 7,786 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 Walheim 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 | #143,149 | #150,935 | -5.4% |
| Count | 116 | 108 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walheim bearers went from 116 to 108 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 7,786 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #150,935.
FAQ
Walheim surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walheim?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Walheim. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Walheim?
Walheim ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Walheim. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Walheim.
Has Walheim become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walheim went from 116 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Walheim?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walheim, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%) 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 Walheim in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walheim appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%), 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 Walheim (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 Walheim mean?
A German surname referring to one from the village or town of Wald. 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 Walheim (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 common is the surname Walheim?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Walheim at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.