2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Walkner
A variant of the German occupational surname referring to a walker or fuller of cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Walkner. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walkner 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Walkner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkner, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Black (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walkner
The surname Walkner is of Germanic origin, specifically from the German-speaking regions of central Europe. It is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "walken," which means "to full" or "to felt" cloth, referring to the occupation of a cloth-fuller or cloth-worker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Walkner surname can be found in the Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain Hermann Walkner was mentioned in a document dated 1382. This suggests that the surname was already well-established in the region by that time.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as the surname spread across German-speaking lands, variations in spelling and pronunciation arose, such as Walckner, Walkhner, and Walchner. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and scribal practices.
In the 18th century, the Walkner surname can be found in various records throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. One notable figure from this period was Johann Georg Walkner (1686-1768), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg.
As the name spread beyond its original Germanic homeland, it also found its way to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas through immigration. For instance, in the late 19th century, a certain Philipp Walkner (1839-1915) emigrated from Bavaria to the United States, settling in Iowa.
Another individual of note was the Austrian architect and artist Friedrich Walkner (1808-1880), who designed several notable buildings in Vienna and other parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
While the Walkner surname may not be as widely known as some other German surnames, it has a rich history rooted in the cloth-making and textile industries of central Europe, reflecting the occupational origins of many surnames from that region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walkner
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkner, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Black (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Walkner 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 Walkner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 106
- Two or more races5.8% · 7
- Black or African American4.1% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walkner
Walkner 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
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
+6 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,420 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-5 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,446 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 3,420 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 7,446 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 Walkner 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 | #133,863 | #141,309 | -5.6% |
| Count | 126 | 121 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walkner bearers went from 126 to 121 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 7,446 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #141,309.
FAQ
Walkner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walkner?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Walkner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Walkner?
Walkner ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Walkner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Walkner.
Has Walkner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walkner went from 126 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Walkner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walkner, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.8%) and Black (4.1%). 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 Walkner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walkner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Two or More Races (5.8%), Black (4.1%). 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 Walkner (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 Walkner mean?
A variant of the German occupational surname referring to a walker or fuller of cloth. 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 Walkner (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 many people share the surname Walkner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.