2000
#39,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 517
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Walkenhorst
A surname derived from a location name, potentially referring to someone from Walkenhorst or a similar place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 643 Americans carry the last name Walkenhorst. That puts it at #41,765 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 533,055 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walkenhorst 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
643
1 in 533,055
Census rank
#41,765
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
561
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 561 bearers of the surname Walkenhorst in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 41765th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkenhorst, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walkenhorst
The surname Walkenhorst originates from Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. It is a locational surname, derived from the place name "Walkenhorst," which translates to "meadow of the walker" or "walker's forest" in German. This name is believed to have originated in the regions of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, where several small villages and settlements bore the name Walkenhorst.
One of the earliest known records of the name Walkenhorst can be found in the church records of the town of Osnabrück, dated 1587, where a certain Johannes Walkenhorst is mentioned. Another early reference comes from the town of Hannover, where a Hinrich Walkenhorst is listed in the tax records of 1612.
Throughout the centuries, various spellings of the name have been recorded, including Walckenhorst, Walkenhorste, and Walckenhorstius. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping during those times.
One notable figure bearing the surname Walkenhorst was Johann Walkenhorst, a German theologian and author who lived from 1642 to 1717. His works, including "Theologia Dogmatica" and "Institutiones Theologicae," were widely studied in theological circles of the time.
In the 18th century, the Walkenhorst family gained prominence in the region of Westphalia, where they owned several estates and lands. One member, Friedrich Walkenhorst (1720-1788), was a respected landowner and served as a magistrate in the city of Münster.
Moving into the 19th century, the Walkenhorst name appears in various records across Germany, with notable individuals including August Walkenhorst (1819-1892), a successful merchant and industrialist from Hanover, and Karl Walkenhorst (1858-1931), a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin.
As the 20th century dawned, the Walkenhorst family continued to make their mark in various fields. One such figure was Hedwig Walkenhorst (1904-1982), a German artist and painter whose works were exhibited in several prestigious galleries across Europe.
While the surname Walkenhorst has its roots firmly planted in German soil, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration and migration. However, its origins can be traced back to the small villages and settlements of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, where the name first emerged centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walkenhorst
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkenhorst, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Walkenhorst 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 Walkenhorst surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.8% · 532
- Two or more races3.2% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walkenhorst
Walkenhorst 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
#40,909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 533
+16 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 963 places
2020
#41,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 561
+28 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Down 856 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #39,946 | 517 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #40,909 | 533 | 0.18 | +16 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 963 places |
| 2020 | #41,765 | 561 | 0.19 | +28 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 856 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 Walkenhorst 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 | #40,909 | #41,765 | -2.1% |
| Count | 533 | 561 | 5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.19 | 4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walkenhorst bearers went from 533 to 561 (+5.3% change). The surname moved down 856 positions in the national ranking, going from #40,909 to #41,765.
FAQ
Walkenhorst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walkenhorst?
Name Census estimates that about 643 living Americans carry the surname Walkenhorst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 533,055 residents.
How common is Walkenhorst?
Walkenhorst ranks #41,765 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.19 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 561 people with the surname Walkenhorst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (643), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.19 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 Walkenhorst.
Has Walkenhorst become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walkenhorst went from 533 recorded bearers to 561. That is an increase of 28 (+5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #40,909 to #41,765.
What does the Census say about the background of Walkenhorst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkenhorst, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (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 Walkenhorst in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (532 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walkenhorst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.8%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (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 Walkenhorst (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 Walkenhorst mean?
A surname derived from a location name, potentially referring to someone from Walkenhorst or a similar place. 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 Walkenhorst (0.19 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 Walkenhorst?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.