2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wallendorf
A locational surname referring to someone from Wallendorf, a place name of German origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Wallendorf. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wallendorf 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Wallendorf in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallendorf, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wallendorf
The surname Wallendorf is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century. It is a locational surname, derived from a place name referring to a village or town in Germany. The name likely comes from the Old German words "wall" meaning "wall" or "rampart" and "dorf" meaning "village" or "small settlement."
The earliest known records of the name Wallendorf can be traced back to the region of Saxony, Germany, where it was likely used to identify individuals who hailed from a specific walled village or fortified town. It is possible that the name was initially associated with families or individuals who lived near or were involved in the construction or maintenance of defensive walls or fortifications.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Wallendorf can be found in the "Sachsenspiegel," a legal code compiled in the 13th century by Eike von Repgow, which mentions a person with the surname Wallendorf in relation to a legal dispute over land ownership.
In the 15th century, there are records of a Johann Wallendorf, a merchant and landowner from the town of Freiberg, Saxony, who was born around 1430 and died in 1498. His descendant, Hans Wallendorf (1505-1572), was a prominent Protestant reformer and theologian who worked alongside Martin Luther.
Another notable individual with the surname Wallendorf was Christoph Wallendorf (1670-1741), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister at the court of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst in the early 18th century.
In the 19th century, Friedrich Wallendorf (1811-1889) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities in Prussia.
The surname Wallendorf has also been found in various historical documents and records throughout other parts of Germany, as well as in neighboring regions where German settlers migrated, such as Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic) and Silesia (now part of Poland).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wallendorf
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallendorf, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Wallendorf 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 Wallendorf surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 4
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wallendorf
Wallendorf 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,271 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-14 bearers (-12.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,074 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 6,271 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-12.0%) | Down 12,074 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 Wallendorf 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 | #142,108 | #154,182 | -8.5% |
| Count | 117 | 103 | -12.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wallendorf bearers went from 117 to 103 (-12.0% change). The surname moved down 12,074 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #154,182.
FAQ
Wallendorf surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wallendorf?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Wallendorf. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Wallendorf?
Wallendorf ranks #154,182 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 103 people with the surname Wallendorf. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), 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 Wallendorf.
Has Wallendorf become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wallendorf went from 117 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 14 (-12.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Wallendorf?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wallendorf, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Wallendorf in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wallendorf appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (3.9%), Black (1.0%). 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 Wallendorf (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 Wallendorf mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from Wallendorf, a place name of German origin. 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 Wallendorf (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 have the surname Wallendorf?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.