2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Walnoha
A Ukrainian surname likely derived from the Slavic root word meaning "walnut tree".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Walnoha. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walnoha 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Walnoha in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walnoha, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walnoha
The surname WALNOHA has its origins tracing back to the 16th century in the region of modern-day Poland. It is believed to be derived from the Old Polish word "walno," which means "to beat" or "to strike," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who worked as a miller or a blacksmith.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the WALNOHA name can be found in the Polish judicial records from the town of Krakow, dating back to the late 1500s. These records mention a certain Jan WALNOHA, who was involved in a legal dispute over land ownership.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the WALNOHA name began to spread across various parts of Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that were once part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some notable individuals bearing this surname during this period include Tomasz WALNOHA (1652-1721), a renowned Polish poet and playwright, and Katarzyna WALNOHA (1710-1785), a prominent landowner and philanthropist from the region of Galicia.
In the 19th century, the WALNOHA name made its way to other parts of Europe, as well as to the Americas, due to waves of immigration. One significant figure from this era was Franciszek WALNOHA (1813-1891), a Polish-American civil engineer who played a crucial role in the construction of the Erie Canal in the United States.
Another notable WALNOHA was Wladyslaw WALNOHA (1875-1952), a Polish-born American painter and sculptor who gained recognition for his works depicting scenes from American life. His paintings can be found in various museums and galleries across the United States.
As the WALNOHA surname spread further, it underwent slight variations in spelling, such as WALNOCH, WALNOWSKI, and WALNOWSKI, reflecting the influence of different regional dialects and linguistic adaptations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walnoha
Among Census respondents with the surname Walnoha, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Walnoha 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 Walnoha surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.7% · 104
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walnoha
Walnoha 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+6 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,290 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-11 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,338 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 3,290 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 11,338 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 Walnoha 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 | #137,327 | #148,665 | -8.3% |
| Count | 122 | 111 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walnoha bearers went from 122 to 111 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 11,338 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #148,665.
FAQ
Walnoha surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walnoha?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Walnoha. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Walnoha?
Walnoha ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Walnoha. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Walnoha.
Has Walnoha become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walnoha went from 122 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Walnoha?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walnoha, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Walnoha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.7% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walnoha appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.7%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Walnoha (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 Walnoha mean?
A Ukrainian surname likely derived from the Slavic root word meaning "walnut tree". 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 Walnoha (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 have the surname Walnoha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.