Find out how popular the last name Wallach is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wallach.

Wallach, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wallach surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wallach in America

Wallach is the 12170th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wallach surname appeared 2,561 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Wallach.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wallach to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wallach

The surname Wallach has its roots in Germany, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "Wallach," which refers to a gelding, or a castrated horse. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname given to someone who worked with horses, perhaps as a groom or stable hand.

In the early days, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Wallache, Walache, and Wallacher, reflecting the differences in regional dialects and scribal interpretations. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the Anhalt region of Germany, dating back to the 12th century.

The name Wallach also had connections to place names in Germany. For instance, there is a town called Walldorf in Baden-Württemberg, which might have contributed to the surname's origins. Additionally, the name was sometimes associated with people from Wallachia, a historical region in modern-day Romania, suggesting possible links to migration patterns.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Wallach. One of the earliest was Johann Wallach (c. 1390-1456), a German scholar and theologian who served as the rector of the University of Leipzig in the 15th century. Another prominent figure was Abraham ben Moses Wallach (1753-1839), a Polish-Jewish scholar and author who wrote extensively on Jewish law and ethics.

In the realm of science, we find Richard Wallach (1816-1881), a German chemist who made significant contributions to the understanding of organic chemistry and the study of isomerism. Another scientist of note was Otto Wallach (1847-1915), a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1910 for his groundbreaking work on alicyclic compounds.

Lastly, in the artistic sphere, there is the German-American painter and sculptor Ingrid Wallach (1923-2009), whose works have been exhibited in various prestigious galleries and museums around the world.

While these are just a few examples, the surname Wallach has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, reflecting the widespread distribution and adaptability of this Germanic name over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wallach

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wallach.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wallach was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wallach has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wallach was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wallach, please contact us.

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